Story #14

She led him back into the house and began on lunch. She pulled a loaf of fresh made bread from the pantry and made four ham and cheese sandwiches with lettuce from the garden that she sent Gi to fetch. She wasn’t quite sure how she managed to convey what she wanted, but he brought back the lettuce in a few minutes. She put two of the sandwiches on Gi’s plate and sat down with Grandfather’s plate next to hers. Grandfather had set off on a ride to check on the cattle, and hadn’t returned yet. Before she knew it, Gi had finished both of his sandwiches and his whole glass of milk, and was watching her eat hers. She looked up at him over her sandwich. He was sitting with his back straight, staring at her. She swallowed warily and wiped the crumbs from her face. She finished eating in the uncomfortable silence with his eyes on her. She stood up and cleared the dishes away. When she turned back, Gi was fiddling with something on his finger she hadn’t noticed before. A kind of ring? A small light glowed blue, and as he flicked it with his thumb, she saw a spark fly. She slowed her rinsing as she watched, fascinated. Suddenly he noticed her, and she turned away quickly. His face was slightly sunburned from working in the sun, it was plain he didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors. She dried her hands and walked over to him, dropping the towel on the table. His attention snapped back to her, and his strange ring dropped back into his lap. She took two fingers and turned his face towards her, gently unwinding the soiled bandage around his close cropped hair. She examined the gash, it was doing better, but still wasn’t pretty. The bruising had spread, and the edges of the cut were dry and yellow. She wet a cloth and pressed it against it. He barely winced. He had a soldier’s demeanor about him, she decided. What interesting stories he must have to tell once he learns English. She thought about it as she ground up more herbs and rebound his head wound. He took off his shirt and she unwound the bandages around his chest. They were extraordinarily lucky it was only a flesh wound and hadn’t gone any deeper, he couldn’t do anything that stretched his pectorals for awhile, but it was healing quickly. It would be nice, to have someone my own age to talk to. Kids from school didn’t count. Nobody took the time to talk to her much, and she didn’t seek them out. Her only real friend was Danny, the neighbor boy. He stopped in occasionally, for dinner or to help with a cattle drive. They’d played together as children and grown closer. Danny, at 17 was the youngest of 10 children. Despite the rocky terrain and dirt roads, he’d acquired a motorcycle somewhere and rode it everywhere, including to school. Danny would have some interesting things to say about Gi. She finished dressing his wounds in silence, thinking about all these things. Just then she heard the roar of a motor outside, the crunch of gravel, and the squawk of chickens, mixed with very bad singing on the drive. That was Danny.

She moved to the window to check, and then back into the kitchen to make another sandwich. She observed Gi looking around in confusion at the noise. She imagined what it must be like to be in his position. Crash landed, with no concept of english, in a house with strange people, and she felt a pang of pity. She hoped he recovered fast so they could help him get home, wherever that was. The door opened and Danny’s singing got close and personal. But it stopped abruptly and turned into questions when he saw Gi.

“Ah who’s this! Hey Vern, got any food? Where’s Clae?” Veronica shook her head, laughing as she set the sandwich down in front of him. Gi was looking from one to the other in confusion, the look of mistrust back on his face. She began to answer his questions as he sat down and bit into the sandwich with a grunt of thanks.

“Grandfather is on a ride, out to check on the herd. And this is Gi. He’s um, he’s an interesting story. I found him yesterday. In the canyon. He was crashed in some kind of experimental craft.” Danny looked up at her, cocking his head. If it wasn’t Danny, Veronica would be afraid he wouldn’t believe her.

“Well that’s weird,” He said at last, and continued eating. Veronica shrugged. Danny would believe anything without question from someone he trusted.

“So how long are you staying?” He was addressing Gi directly, but Veronica answered.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t speak english, Danny…  Grandfather seems to know more about his situation than I do. He told me he’d explain everything tonight. He’s been helping me out around the farm today. You should have seen him with the kittens.” Danny grinned,

“Gentle giant, eh? He any good with tools?” Veronica pursed her lips. She felt rude talking about Gi in front of him like this. He’d gone back to fiddling with the ring, but it was obvious he knew they were talking about him. He’d heard his name.

“Danny, look at the corner of the table. And don’t shout, or say his name. But he made that mark this morning when I was dressing his wounds. With his fist.” She raised her eyebrows at him, as he ran his fingers over the mark and then looked back up at her.
“Remember when I hit this table with a hammer when we were ten?”

“Yes. I do remember that. Grandfather wasn’t happy about that. But you don’t see any kind of mark from that incident. He’s enormously strong, Dan. It’s scary, honestly. I had to bring him back here unconscious last night, and he weighs upwards toward three hundred pounds,” Here Danny’s jaw dropped.

“That’s impossible! He looks like he weighs one seventy at most. There’s no way.”

“That’s what I said,” Veronica said grimly.

Suddenly, Gi swayed in his seat, very pale. She rushed forward and steadied him by the shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut, apparently dizzy, and then shook his head, looking up at her. He said a few words in his own language before he stopped, clearly frustrated.

“Is he alright?” Danny had stood up and was watching.

“Could you get him a glass of water?” Veronica looked into Gi’s eyes, and he tried to look at her straight on, but his vision was foggy. She berated herself harshly on the inside, what had she been thinking having him do so much the day after such an incident? Gi drank the water, and she felt his forehead. He was burning with fever again. She sighed.

“Looks can be deceiving. It’s easy to forget what he’s gone through when he looks and acts so strong. He needs to rest.” She pulled him upright, and he swayed again, almost crushing her under his weight.

“Danny!” She grunted, “A little help! We’re taking him to the guest bedroom.”

They each took an arm, and together, and very slowly, they managed to get him into bed. He was shuddering with chills.

“Stay with him while I get him a wet cloth.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Danny sounded panicked.

“Just don’t let him roll off the bed, for heaven sakes, Danny!” Veronica moved fast as she got the cloth and returned to find Danny chewing his nails and staring at Gi’s tossing form.

“Well this is WEIRD.”

“I know right? That’s what I said. Let me get him taken care of, and I’ll tell you the rest of the story.” She pressed the cloth against his forehead, and he stared up at her feverishly. She smiled weakly at him.

“Sleep! You’ll feel better.” He turned away, eyes closed. She beckoned to Danny, and the left the room silently, closing the door behind them. Veronica let out her breath in a whoosh.

“Well,” She said after a pause. Danny was looking at her, “Let’s go out on the porch and I’ll explain everything.”

.....

Song