Wow. There are a lot of Navajos in Winslow. Wess thought. He had grown up in a place where he was more accustomed to the Latino peoples. Seeing so many people of a race he wasn’t around often, in one single place, was a bit different. Neat, he thought. Wess sat in the Malibu at a gas station between Fresno and Temecula, eyes closed, looking on as Trisha walked into a gas station in Winslow. He opened his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and silently pretended she was inside the gas station that he sat out front of. Maybe it’s a sign. He told himself. That at this very moment, somewhere in the world, Trisha was in a gas station while he sat out front of one.

          But, Wess liked to tell himself things like that. He folded his arms over a black shirt reading “Washington D.C.” It didn’t hold some special meaning to him. His uncle traveled to DC when Wess was 17, bringing it back to him as a souvenir. He looked down at himself. Wess had always been tall and slender, but even Wess noticed in recent months he had lost more weight. He wasn’t on mom’s good food twice a day anymore. I just forget. He thought. I forget to eat. Listen to yourself Wess. Not many people have the problem of losing weight because they forget to eat. He silently chuckled at the absurdness of it. Tall, thin, green eyed, Wess Owen with dark blond hair.

A cloud moved out from in front of the sun, sending a ray of light directly into those green eyes.

          “No wonder I like to have my eyes closed most the time…” He grumbled as he reached for a pair of sunglasses and pulled the front seat visor down. He leaned back in his seat to relax, pushing the hair from in front of his face back behind his ear. He sat back forward and turned the key in the ignition, taking the entrance back on to the freeway.

* * *

          “Alright you guys... are you sure you can handle this? What I have inside is like nothing you’ve ever expected or seen from me.” Myles led his mother and grandmother up the driveway.

          “Well quit building the suspense and get on with it!” Small, delicate Grandma Elsie waved a hand at him. She had a rather large voice, despite her tiny figure. He got to the door and turned to face them, a mischievous grin plastered across his face. Myles entered the small foyer of the house before opening the second door into the front room.

          “Grandma… I’m sure you’ll remember a very special young lady…” He smiled. Elsie somewhat hobbled into the front room, almost as though depending her weight on an invisible cane. Her eyes fell upon the couch, instantaneously lighting her face.

          “You have my RESCUER!!!!!!” She exclaimed. Trisha jumped up off the couch into open arms. The two twirled in a hug, squealing almost as fifteen year old girls being reunited. “You see this Genia???” Elsie released Trish and turned to face her daughter. “My grandson brought me my rescuer!!”

          “But... how did you get her here, Myles?” His mother asked. Just then, Genia’s eyes found a Christian Reese Lassen painting on the nearest wall. She turned her gaze back to Trisha; in time to witness Myles wrap his arms around her.

          “Well, Myles and I…”

          “Oh you little CHARMER!!! You little RASCAL!!! You went to Catalina and you swept my lifeguard off her feet and brought her here!”

          “I sure did.” Myles grinned.

          “Mom, calm down.” Genia grinned. “Son, have a seat. It would seem you have a story to tell.” The group stayed in the front room at Myles and Trisha’s house as they told the story of how they got together.  

* * *

          An elderly woman, a middle aged woman, and Trisha’s boyfriend all sat in the front room at Trisha’s new place as Wess evaluated the scene within his mind. Within his eyelids he watched little Grandma smile, bounce and laugh, as if watching a movie with the volume muted.

          But he didn’t need volume or words to hear what they were saying. He could tell by the way she squinted her eyes and waved her hand; the laughter plastered on her face and her tiny body: Grandma was teasing Myles. Well, at least if Trisha married prepass she would have a neat grandma in law. Is that his grandma? Wess wondered. He didn’t know for sure, as he was analyzing the scene purely on sight.

          However, Trisha’s boyfriend looked a bit like the middle aged woman, and the middle aged woman looked a bit like the elderly one. He figured it was safe to assume Grandma, daughter, and grandson.  What is the catch here? He seemed to have a normal looking family but Wess knew that there was something off with Trisha’s boyfriend. He knew she went into it too fast, after all, he watched from right within her mind.

          But still, the question remained. Why was this happening? Was he meant to marry Trisha? What was her involvement to him?

          And then he thought of Allie and when she went missing. Yes, the thought had crossed his mind that perhaps Trisha was Allie. But somewhere inside, Wess knew she wasn’t. He would be able to tell. In the back of his mind, Wess knew Allie was dead. It was only his Mom’s steadfast hope and faith that made him question it.

          He looked back on the recent years and what happened throughout his life. He thought of Rosalee, and the way she lost everything she built when that daycare burned down. She lost the life she had created for herself and her passion.

          After the fire, she immediately got a job offer from another daycare to put her straight into management no questions asked. They were trying to cure her most certain pain.

          And yes, Rosalee took the job in hopes of taking her mind off of what happened. But mom wasn’t able to work any longer. Wess remembered Dad yelling at her.

          “You don’t think I loved Allie too? I’m not the only one who lost my daughter here Tanya... but we still have to be strong... we have to be strong because we still have him! We still have my son… and he needs us! He needs us to raise him into a man!” And Wess could remember all those nights lying awake listening to them even at only ages eight and nine.

          And he remembered sitting at the police station at age six telling the officers Allie was his big sister, not quite aware she was missing and that he would never see her again.

          Through all of the pain and all of the memories, if he dug long enough, Wess could remember Allie. He remembered playing the board game “Candy land” with her before he was even school aged, and how frustrated she would get with him because he didn’t know how to play. All he wanted to do was giggle at the pieces.

          Wess remembered. He remembered five years later when Tanya finally emerged from her suffering and got a job. He remembered his Dad yelling at her to be strong, but sitting on the couch and holding her as she cried... telling her how sorry he was. He remembered the pain he witnessed in his household and what it did to him just to watch them.

          He remembered after they calmed down how he would come try to comfort them and talk to them at a very young age, and how mom told him it was time for the grown-ups to talk.

          And Wess remembered listening around the corner when they would.

          He got out of his car out front the apartment complex and walked inside. When he entered the front doors, Lyle was sitting down in the lobby.

          “Oh good, you’re back. Dan is upstairs in your room. He wants to talk to ya.”

          “Thanks man. Any idea what about?” Wess asked.

          “Nah.” Lyle replied. Wess walked upstairs to the second floor and entered the doorway to his apartment.

          “There ya are. Got a few things on the bed in your room for ya.” Dan sat in the kitchen.

          “Okay…?” Wess got a little confused. He walked down the hallway into his room. Sitting on the bed were two large boxes. As he got closer, he saw the larger one was a TV and the smaller box was a 5.1 sound system. He sat down, still not quite sure what was going on when Lyle and Dan came in.

          “We heard you got robbed. Figured with all the work you’ve done and how well you’ve been doing lately you deserved them. Compliments of the Matthias Incorporated bank account.” Dan smiled. “Sent Lyle to the store to pick them out for you and gave him a check.”

          “$h*t.. Thanks Dan. You didn’t have to.”

          “Yeah, well you deserved it. I also wanted to ask if you’ve made a plan.” Dan, Lyle and Wess walked back down the hallway into the kitchen where they sat at the table.

          “I’m still thinking on it. After we finish the hotel… that might time out with the spring semester starting at Southern California University... if I get in to a university that is. Mark and David said that they can take me on at the firm, I can start learning there.. but I’ll still need to get a degree if I want to go farther in the firm.

          Like I was telling my folks... I guess I need to wake up to the fact that I apparently have a talent... and a lot of good people who want to help me get it going somewhere in life.”

          “Yeah, but we’re just coming in to September right now. That semester doesn’t start until January, and we’ll be finished in a week or two on the hotel. Then again, I guess that would give you enough time to move down to LA, get on your feet and get ready for school, huh...” Dan thought out-loud. But inside..

          Yeah son. There are a lot of good people who want to help you. Wow... Those gifts were the perfect thing to distract Wess Owen.. perfect to let his guard down. Dan smiled silently to himself.

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