The Legend of the Firewalker (4 page)

“Uh, that’s cool,” muttered Nathan, while occasionally glancing outside the window at the pool area. “But I’m star
ving now.” Unconsciously, he massaged the palms of his hands. The tingling sensation was starting to make his hands feel numb. “What time does this birthday lunch thing start?”

“Soon,” said Roy, eyeing Nathan suspiciously as he rubbed his hands. “LaDonda went to pick up lunch from the Dardings’ Italian restaurant in town.”

Nathan pursed his lips. “Well, I’m sure that was Lafonda’s boyfriend’s idea,” he muttered.

“Actually, it was his parents’,” Roy responded with a grin. “You know they’ve always been fond of Lafonda.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nathan spouted, slightly irritated. “And I’m sure they can’t wait for Jim to marry her.” He continued to massage his hands. “And I don’t know why Jim’s parents would name the restaurant after the family name when they’re not even Italian!” 

“Okay, what is wrong with your hands?” demanded Roy. “Do you need some ointment or something?”

Nathan suddenly looked embarrassed and dropped his hands to his sides. Roy stared at him as if he had just caught Nathan’s hands in the cookie jar. “I think we’d better get some ointment,” he added sternly. 

The outside door to the kitchen opened and Nathan and his grandfather both turned to the sound. Slowly, LaDonda entered the house with a tray of sandwiches in her hands, followed by Jim and Lafonda. Jim was also carrying a tray of food. Lafonda was still wearing her bathing suit and occ
asionally used the towel around Jim’s neck to pat the water that fell from his hair onto his body.

“You can place that one over here,” said LaDonda, d
irecting Jim to place his tray next to hers. She smiled. “Make sure you thank your parents again for me for lunch.”

“No problem, Mrs. Devaro,” Jim responded eagerly. “Do you think it will be enough?”

“Way too much,” commented Nathan. “I’m sure we could feed a small village with the leftovers.”

LaDonda frowned, and Roy quickly gave him a disa
pproving glare. “Um — Nathan,” Roy stammered, “you were starving just a second ago.”

“Well, I appreciate the generosity,” said Lafonda, wra
pping her arms around Jim’s waist. She gave him a hug followed by a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m glad that your parents are so giving and that they taught their son well.”

Jim smiled a huge grin of approval, and Lafonda turned around just in time to receive a disapproving glare from N
athan. She responded with a sarcastic smile.

“Oh!” exclaimed LaDonda. “It’s almost time for your parents to call. Let’s move to the front living room and open presents.” 

“Okay,” said Lafonda cheerfully. “Let me run upstairs and quickly change clothes.”

“Do you think you might want to put on a shirt?” sneered Nathan, while glaring at Jim.  

Jim eyed him and then forced a smile. “Nope,” he said, running a hand across his bare abs and chest. “I’m good.”

Roy loudly cleared his throat and then shook his head. “Here, Nathan,” he said, handing his grandson a plate with two sandwiches. “I know you wouldn’t want to waste any food.”

The spacious front living room of the Devaro Mansion was fully arranged with white and beige furniture. LaDonda had decorated the room with a New Orleans French Quarter style. Each window in the room was adorned with intricately patterned plush draperies, and in every corner was a large potted plant. The contrasting walnut floor made all the white and beige furniture pieces inviting. Sunlight easily filled the room through the enormous picture windows, and the silver picture frames and various antiques on the mantel shone brilliantly in the natural light.

LaDonda stood in the center of the room with cell phone in hand while occasionally peeking outside the window. “You guys go ahead and open the presents,” she said.

“Happy birthday, Lafonda!” said Jim enthusiastically, before anyone else could. He handed her a slim rectangular box. “Here. Open mine first.”

“I don’t have to be psychic to know what that is,” mu
mbled Nathan.

Both Roy and Lafonda turned to face him and frowned. She then rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on Jim. “It’s beautiful,” she said, opening the gold box. 

“What a surprise,” muttered Nathan. “Another gold necklace; how original.”

“Do you like the charms?” asked Jim, referring to the gold letters J and D that dangled from the necklace.

Nathan chuckled and then quickly tried to stifle his laughter. “Wasn’t that so thoughtful of Jim to give you such a fine piece of jewelry to wear around your neck?” he asked Lafonda sarcastically. “Jim, my man, you really outdid yourself this time.” He grinned again. “I’m sure Lafonda will wear it every day!”

Lafonda glowered and pursed her lips while Jim attemp
ted to reach around her. “Here, babe,” he said cheerfully, ignoring Nathan. “Try it on.”

Lafonda’s shoulders seemed to cringe slightly at the sound of the word
babe
. “Thank you, again,” she said, while gently touching the gold letters that now lay flat against her chest. “It’s lovely.”

Next, she opened several gifts from Roy. “I hope the IUCF T-shirts will fit okay,” he grinned. 

She smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure they will,” she said, taking a pause. “But why the sunglasses?”

Roy grinned again. “I’m sure they’ll come in handy eve
ntually,” he said. “Maybe out by the pool. You’ll figure it out.”

She eyed him suspiciously and then shrugged. “Okay, then,” she said with a smile, giving him a big hug. “Then they’re all perfect.”

Reluctantly, Nathan headed over towards the table. “I guess I’m up next,” he mumbled. The only gift left on the table was the small red box with the huge red ribbon. He could feel Jim’s glare beaming down on him as he reached for the box. Nathan loudly cleared his throat and stared back at him, and Jim slowly stepped back. “Happy birthday!” said Nathan, gracefully handing her the box. 

Lafonda beamed. “Thank you, Nathan,” she grinned.

“But wait,” said Nathan, appearing confused. “You don’t even know what’s in it yet.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s brilliant!” she said, glancing over at Roy.

Carefully, she unraveled the red ribbon and placed it and the tiny red lid on the table. Lafonda’s mouth slowly fell open and her eyes began to tear as she spoke in a whisper. “I thought I’d lost it for good.”

Jim leaned over her shoulder and Nathan carefully inched closer to see what was in the box. Lafonda smiled as she tried to choke back her tears. “And it’s just as beautiful as the day I lost it,” she said. “All those years ago.” She turned to look at Nathan and then at Roy. “Where did you find it?”

“I found it about a month ago while tending to the rose bushes behind the main house,” said Roy, quickly placing an arm around Nathan before he could speak. “You know, where you kids would play when you were little.” He gave Nathan a slight nudge. “Nathan thought it would be nice to clean it up and give it to you as a surprise for your birthday.”

“Um
— yeah — right!” stumbled Nathan, quickly chiming in.

“Okay, so what is it?” interrupted Jim, sounding annoyed. 

Lafonda turned to glower at him before carefully removing the small gold object from the box. “It’s the locket my grandfather gave to me before he died,” she said in a low voice. “I was only seven when he gave it to me.” She paused and her eyes swelled with tears again. “I lost it shortly after and I guess I never really stopped looking for it.”

LaDonda smiled. “Yes, I remember the day he gave it to you,” she said, stepping away from the window. “Jackson really wanted you to have that locket.” She paused to peer out of the window again. “You know, it originally belonged to Nathan’s mother.”

“My mother?” asked Nathan, in a high-pitched voice.

“Yes, Nathan,” LaDonda said, while glancing at Roy. She cleared her throat. “Grace gave it to Lafonda’s grandfather shortly after she had you.” She paused again and then enth
usiastically looked back from the window. “Okay, everyone, let’s continue this party outside!”

“Huh?” muttered Lafonda. She looked confused. “How come?”

“Come on,” said LaDonda, while ushering everyone out the front door. “But wait for me, hun.” She took Lafonda by the hand and then held up her cell phone. “I want you to walk out with me, but let’s get your parents on the line first.”

The noon sun was set high in the summer sky and reflec
ted a red glare into Nathan’s eyes. It took him only a moment to realize that it wasn’t the sun causing the red glare, but the shiny new red Ferrari sitting in the driveway. 

“Oh, my God!” Lafonda screamed.

“Happy birthday!” smiled LaDonda, taking the phone from Lafonda as she bolted towards the car.

“It’s my car!” Lafonda yelled. “It even has the color seats I wanted!” She turned to look at her grandmother. “I can’t believe it!”

“It’s from me and your parents,” explained LaDonda, before speaking on the phone.

Jim suddenly looked animated, and he had a huge smile on his face. “It’s the new Ferrari Spider,” he said, with e
xcitement in his voice. “It has over 500 horsepower.”

“Thank you, thank you, Grandma!” repeated Lafonda, giving her a long hug and then taking the phone to talk to her parents.

“Um,” stuttered Nathan. He leaned into his grandfather and then gestured towards Jim. “Was he in on this?”

Roy paused to take a deep breath and then sighed happ
ily. “Well, that’s what happens when you sleep and everyone’s awake, son,” he chuckled. “You miss things.”

“Okay, Dad,” said Lafonda reassuringly over the phone. “I will drive safe and wear my seat belt.” She smiled. “I love you too. And tell Mom that I really love the gift and that I really miss you guys so much! Yes, I will call again after my test drive.”

Lafonda handed the phone back to her grandmother and squealed. “I am so excited!” she yelled, opening the door to the convertible and sliding in.

Without hesitation, Jim eagerly jumped into the passe
nger seat. “You ready to take this baby for a spin?” he asked.

Lafonda smiled as she turned the key in the ignition. She then turned to look at Nathan. “Hey!” she said. “You want to take it for a spin when we get back?”

Jim frowned. He appeared taken aback by her offer. A brief moment passed, and then Nathan shook his head. “Nah, that’s okay,” he said. “We can go for a spin tomorrow.”

“Oh
— okay,” she responded slowly. 

“Let’s go, babe!” shouted Jim over the roar of the engine.

She smiled again and then put the car into gear. Jim impatiently started to tap his fingers on the dashboard. “Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?” he asked.

“Yep, and I just need one thing,” she said, as she put on her new sunglasses that hung from the crest of her shirt. She waved one hand in Roy’s direction as the red car sped down the U-shaped driveway. “Thanks, Roy!”

Nathan spent the rest of the afternoon helping his grandfather prepare the den for Lafonda’s birthday party. He thought the den was quite nice, actually, and the Devaros often used it as a family room that also housed a small library in its mezzanine. He would often stare out the mezzanine window, especially after the first snow, while enjoying the sounds of the crackling fireplace from down below.

LaDonda was busy in the kitchen making the birthday cake but made several appearances to make certain that the room was decorated just right: not too many balloons, but festive with color.

In the evening, Lafonda went over to Jim’s house to show her new car to Jim’s parents and some of their friends. Nathan hid away in the cottage, hoping not to be forced by his grandfather to accompany her. He wasn’t comfortable at all around the Dardings and didn’t want to try to fit in with them especially since most of their conversations, one way or another, were about cars, boats, vacations and money.

Quietly, he lay in bed while allowing his gaze to aimles
sly float around the room. He immediately noticed a bottle of Wool’s Ointment for the treatment of fungus and other ailments caused by eukaryotes on one of his pillows. Roy had obviously put it there for him to use to solve his hand-scratching problem. 

Nathan sighed. He thought about taking out his suitcase to start packing for his time at camp, but his mind kept wa
ndering elsewhere. He glanced over at the two picture frames of his parents that were nestled in the corner of his desk. One of the frames, the one that appeared aged and carved out of wood, was of their wedding photo. The picture and the frame were his mom’s, so he would often take it to school with him and on extended trips. 

Why did she give her locket to Jackson?
he thought, letting out a stifled yawn.

He then looked at the other photograph, of a beautiful pregnant woman. He had studied her picture many times b
efore, paying attention to every line and detail. Her smile in the photograph was bright and hopeful, but there was a sadness to her eyes. Her dark hair was long and full, and when he was little, he would often tell people he was the son of Pocahontas.

Was she sad because she had lost the love of her life to a car accident several months earlier?
he pondered. He often studied his father’s face in the wedding photo and wondered what he was like.
Did she somehow know that she wouldn’t survive the pregnancy?