I'll See You In Your Dreams (9 page)

The cool black man stuck out his hand. “My name is Samuel Thomas Aaron Novak. Friends call me Sam. What would you prefer to call me? You have four choices.” He paused as Colton surveyed Sam.

“Shall I call you Mr. Novak until I earn your friendship? And while I’m asking, what must I do to earn the right to call you Sam?”

“You must decide if I am a friend or not.”

Colton and the black man looked at each other with equal amusement in their eyes. “My name is Colton Johanson. Friends call me Colton Johanson. What would you prefer to call me? You have only one choice.”

“How about smart alec, after the exploits of one Alec Hoag.”

“I’m flattered. I didn’t know that came from a famous Alec. What was he famous for?”

“He was a con man and a pimp!”

“You can call me Colton.” They laughed and shook hands.

“So, Mr. nineteen year old wrangler, have you ever heard of a breed of horse called an Arabian?”

Colton burst out laughing.

“Why are you laughing, Alec?”

“It’s Colton, to you. And the reason I’m laughing is that I was born and raised on the number one Arabian farm in England, at Crabbet Park.”

“Oh, my Lord, this has got to be more than a coincidence. I emigrated from England myself about ten years ago. I know Crabbet Park well. I was raised by an English general who had served in South Africa when they suffered one of their biggest defeats at the hands of the Zulus.”

“The Zulus defeated the British?” asked Colton incredulously.

“Soundly. Over eight hundred British lost their lives. The British eventually gathered a large enough army to overpower the Zulus. In the ensuing battle, the village of my birth was overcome in a horrific engagement. I was one of the Zulu survivors.”

Colton leaned against a wooden rail. “You were a survivor of a war? How did you end up being raised by a general?”

“I was given to a General Novak by the king of the Zulus, Cetshwayo, who was captured and exiled to Cape Town. This gesture by the Zulu king obligated General Novak to treat me in an exemplary fashion and see that I received a top education. This Zulu tradition was a nation building one. It propagated emissaries throughout warring tribes until the various factions began to unite, rather than war with one’s own brother.”

“So, you’re a Zulu?” Colton asked with admiration.

“I am a descendant of the Zulus, but I’m afraid the noble traditions and courage that I scantly remember, have been subjugated to the might of bigger guns but smaller minds. The Zulus of my birth no longer exist.”

“How did you end up here in California?” Colton asked.

“I came to America and to California to breed Arabians. A visit to Crabbet Park with the General when I was twelve inspired me. The farm, the horses, and overall set up was so impressive. What most impressed me, however, was a woman horse trainer whom the General and Lord Blunt, co-owners of the breeding farm, were discussing, as we all watched her put a horse through its routines.”

Colton was now riveted. Sam continued, “she was magical in her handling of the beasts. Lord Blunt was convinced that she somehow mentally talked to the horses. They seemed so bent on pleasing her. They also discussed the possibility that her extreme beauty and poise affected the horses just as it did men.” They both laughed.

Sam went on. “Lord Blunt told my father, the general, her story of being born into a prominent Swedish breeding farm. It accounted for her fair complexion and blonde hair. Then suddenly a seven-year-old came walking out from the barn with an Arabian following. “Now, who could that have been, Colton?”

“Good God almighty, this is too much of a coincidence.”

“Exactly.”

“Why are you here, Colton?”

“I’m seeking my destiny, my fortune, or at least some adventure.”

“I have a deal for you, Colton. I believe in providence, and I have often thought of how lucky Lord Blunt was to have your mother on as a trainer. I’ve only hoped in my wildest dreams to find someone with such talent. Now here you are.

“I suddenly see an opportunity for both of us. As a black man, I often hit the color barrier in some dealing or other. You with your sunny blond hair would make a perfect partner. Hmmm, I’m sure that together we can far more than double what I could do alone. So Colton, I’m offering you a partnership in this Arabian breeding dynasty consisting of fifty acres, a livery service downtown and twelve Arabians.”

“Downtown San Francisco?” asked Colton.

“No, downtown Fresno,” responded Sam.

“Fresno? Where’s Fresno?” Colton asked with a puzzled look.

“It’s in the San Joaquin Valley, not far from here. It’s near Yosemite Valley. So, what do you say? Remember it will cost you no money up front, just a commitment to a lot of work, for several years.”

Colton thought over the uncanny coincidence of meeting Sam and of such an opportunity to use his most loved talent in pursuit of his destiny. “Well, I’ve decided,” Colton said with confidence.

“What have you decided?” Sam asked with trepidation.

“I’ve decided that you are my friend, and partner, Sam!”

Colton and Sam shook hands.

They made their way to the parallel rail line next to the main track, where cattle or horses were offloaded to be rested, watered, and fed. There awaiting them, were twelve  magnificent  Arabians. Colton and Sam soon had them loaded onto the train.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Let’s go, Charlie; it is time to start arranging for tonight’s rendezvous with Anne.”

“It’s only four o’clock, Stanley. Oh, my god, I forgot to return the key to Leslie!” Charlie yelped in a panic.

“Now that you’re in a manic episode, as they say, I will confess to you that I returned the key to Leslie as soon as you hit the pillow.”

“Whew, thank god you remembered.”

Charlie looked suddenly dismayed and with a forlorn voice said, “How in hell will we get in tonight?”

“In lieu of an antidepressant to numb you out of your manic depressant state, I must resort to the old fashioned way of solving a problem: to actually do something about it.” Stanley slowly pulled a key from his pocket and held it up.

“I made a copy. Oh, coo coo, friend.”

“Stanley, you’re the best, and I like you despite everything everyone says about you behind your back.” Stanley smiled and gave Charlie the finger.

“Let’s take my car,” Stanley said.

They approached his extremely modified BMW series three coupe. The beautifully contoured dash was just smooth leather, with a steering wheel. There were no instruments, gauges, or anything else for that matter. The car was all voice controlled-Stanley’s voice. The exterior was a flat dark grey primer. Stanley couldn’t decide on the exact paint, so he continued to drive it in its primed state.

“This is one boring ass car, Stanley. There’s nothing to look at inside since you stripped it!”

Stanley turned onto a four lane road and punched the accelerator. The two turbo chargers kicked in and their heads smooched back into the headrests.

“Actions, not looks, dispel boredom,” Stanley stated smugly.

“There is something to be said for both.”

“Radio!” Stanley commanded. The radio came on.

“Oh, I’m impressed,” Charlie said with his best nasal whine.

“Asshole!” Stanley commanded again, and Charlie’s favorite station came on. “I programmed that just for you, Charlie.”

They hit the freeway and soon pulled off into an industrial area by the airport. Stanley pulled up to a body and paint shop. The owner came out and gave Stanley a high five.

“It’s all ready, Stanley, and full of gas.”

“Okay Frank, thanks!” Stanley handed him some rolled up bills, and Frank pocketed them without counting.

“What do you think?” Frank said as they approached a white van. Frank pointed at a magnetic sign attached to the side of it that read Antique Restorations.

“Perfect, Frank. I’m sorry for the short notice.”

“No problem, Stanley. With the new computerized sign painter, it’s a no brainer. Here’s a key to the yard to pick up your car when you’re done.” Frank handed Stanley a key.

“Well, Charlie, now we have a cover. If we’re spotted by anyone, our story is we are restoring antiques and must do so at night, so not to disrupt tours. Got it?”

They unloaded the camera and other equipment from the car to the van and got in. “You know, Stanley, we are becoming a sort of Magnum PI, or since there are two of us, more like what’s their names, the two doofuses with the red car.”

Stanley let out a long breath of air and slowly shook his head.

After catching dinner at the Old Basque Hotel, across from the train depot, they pulled up in front of the Meux home. They opened the back of the van, and Stanley pulled out two sets of overalls.

“Here, put these on. It will add to the cover.”

“Bond, James Bond,” Charlie murmured as he stepped into the overalls and hummed the James Bond tune.

They grabbed the equipment and were soon in Anne’s room. They set up the camera, and Stanley pulled an infrared lamp from his canvas bag. He removed a small laser pen, Ion detector and the magnetic field detector from his pocket and placed it on Anne’s bed. “We might as well test all the equipment we can for workability now that we know a ghost resides here. You never know what we may be up to in the future,” Stanley said.

After all was set up, Charlie and Stanley sat down on Anne’s bed.

“What time is it, Charlie?”

“It’s eight o’clock.”

“You stay here, Charlie. I’ll move over to the rocker so Anne won’t be surprised by my presence.”

He got up to move when Charlie pointed at the floor and said, “Watch the broken board, it’s a grabber.” Stanley flinched and stopped. “Made you jump, made you jump!” Charlie said to the ‘nener nener’ taunting tune.

“Charlie, I’m going to catch you sleeping one of these days and super glue your lips together. My god, man, you shouldn’t have tried to lobotomize yourself in eighth grade,” Stanley mumbled grumpily as he made his way to the rocker.

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At one o’clock in the morning there was a small beep from the mag detector. Charlie opened his eyes on the bed and Stanley leaned forward in the rocker. They both turned their heads slowly toward the corner where Anne had appeared before. There was a small, almost imperceptible pinpoint of faint light there. They both held their breath as it turned brighter, until a small orb of light appeared four feet above the floor and slowly lowered to two feet.

More orbs started to appear in rapid succession like so many pixels on a TV screen. Soon the outline of Anne seated in the corner began to materialize. 

“Charles?” she whispered. Anne blinked as though trying to focus.

“Anne, I’m here.” She began to become more solid as she heard Charlie’s voice. She turned to Charlie and smiled.

“I am so glad to see you again.”

“I’m glad to see you too! By the way, before I forget, I would like to introduce you to my best friend, Stanley.” Charlie gestured toward Stanley. Stanley stayed perfectly still and simply smiled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Stanley.”

“Truly, the pleasure is mine, Anne.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Charlie.

“What do you now think of our first meeting?”

“Well, I can honestly say it was the most riveting evening I’ve ever had! I can think of nothing else.”

“And so it was for me.”

“I even dreamed of you as soon as I went to sleep.”

“Yes, and it was wonderful!” Anne replied softly.

“What?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“Your dream was wonderful, I’m so glad you came to me.” Anne smiled.

“That was … you … not just a dream?”

“It was as much a dream as you are now, and a good dream, too!” Anne smiled again.

“You seemed more real in the dream. That is, I could touch you and feel you. Oh, I’m sorry. I mean, it was real.”

“We mutually created that moment in our own universe, so it was more real. The ancient ones told me.”

“I don’t understand.” Charlie looked puzzled. “Who are the ancient ones?”

“Those who have been in this universe for a long, long time. I learned a lot about the other universes from them.”

“What other universes?” Charlie asked with apprehension.

“Well, there’s the physical universe, right?” she asked mischievously.

“Duh,” said Charlie.

“There is your universe, isn’t there?”

“Uh, that would be in the affirmative.”

“There would be my universe, wouldn’t there?”

“Absolutely,” Charlie said.

“There would be the universe created mutually, like relationships of all sorts, friendship, marriage, communities, etc. It is created by agreements and attraction of some sort.”