Provider's Son (24 page)

Levi was fooled as well as the bouncer. Jon punched the bouncer between the eyes. It was sloppy, but still a hard crack by the sound of it. With Jon's bulky frame behind it, it had to be. Levi knew that had he been on the other end of it he would now be on the floor. But the bouncer was a short, stocky man, and with his thick brow-bridge looked more Neanderthal than Homo sapien. He stumbled back, but caught himself, standing on the only set of wobbly legs in the premises caused by blunt force instead of alcohol. But he didn't fall. It was then Levi knew that one of them, if not both of them, were in for a beating.

“Its always the Indians or the Newfies,” the bouncer said through clenched teeth. “Is that all you got?” He came forward and drove his foot into Jon's leg, just above the knee, making Jon bend over, then followed through with a right hook, putting Jon on the floor. Levi went for the bouncer's midsection before he even realized what he was doing. But the bouncer actually laughed, taking him into a guillotine hold. In seconds Levi found himself growing faint, and he panicked, as he thought he was being choked to death. In seconds he was unconscious.

When Levi awoke he was on the sidewalk, turning over on to his face. At first he thought he was controlling his body, but then realized he was being turned by someone else. And his rear end was also being groped. He looked around and saw it was the native prostitute Jon and he had spoken to earlier. Smokers gathered outside The Pied Piper were yelling at her from back near the entrance, but no one was actually helping him. She told them to fuck off as she tore his wallet out of his pocket. She quickly walked away, and then broke into a run when Levi finally managed to stagger to his feet and go after her. The fresh air seemed to have sobered him enough to manage to run without falling. She was an awkward runner and he managed to catch up with her just as she ducked into an alley.

“Give me back me fuckin wallet!” he said, but as he reached out and grabbed her arm, something wooden struck him hard in the side of his head.

So twice in ten minutes Levi was rendered unconscious. As he came to the second time he thought he could hear a man talking, but it faded and then he realized that his face and shirt and coat were soaked. At first it tasted like flat beer, but it had a strange musky smell, with a salty aftertaste. It was then Levi realized he was soaked in urine. When he registered the taste on his lips again he turned and vomited. And every time he smelled or tasted it again he would vomit some more.

A figure stumbled into the dark alley.

“Is that you, Levi?” Jon said, sounding childlike in his inebriation. “Is that—”

“Yes goddamn it, yes, its me. Where in the fuck were you when she was pissing on me?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Jesus, Jesus, lets get the hell out of this fuckin town.”

“He drilled me.”

“Yes by?” Levi said, sarcastically. “I didnt notice.”

“Whats that smell?”

“That goddamn bitch pissed on me after she knocked me out. Or someone knocked me out.”

Levi couldn't stand the smell of it anymore so he tore his coat off and threw it in the dumpster. He tried to pull his shirt off just as violently but being soaked in urine it sucked on to his face, and he flailed about trying to pull it off, stumbling blindly with it half over his head, and then falling against the wall. Tears of rage and humiliation came to his eyes as he managed to tear it off his head.

“Oh man,” Jon said. “Thats bad.” Then he fell into a fit of drunken giggling.

“Dont you laugh. Dont you laugh!”

This only made Jon laugh harder as he tried to spit out apologies, and fell against the wall.

“Stop laughing. Im not joking. Lets get the fuck back to the camp.”

“Youre the one who wanted to come here so bad.”

“And the next time I asks you punch me in the face.”

When they got out under the street lights and Jon saw Levi's face his laughter subsided.

“Oh man, you got a nasty gash over your ear,” Jon said. “Your neck is full of blood.”

Levi put his hand up and felt it.

“Ill be fine,” he said. “Its not bleeding now is it?”

“I cant tell.”

“Ill be fine.”

The street lights reflected off Levi's naked flesh. There was still muscle tone in that middle aged body, but a slightly sagging paunch above the belt buckle gave him away. They hopped in the Ford with Jon in the driver seat, but both seemed to have forgotten how drunk they were anyway.

“How much money was in your wallet?”

“About a hundred dollars, but its my credit card that Im...” Levi stopped and remembered there was something more precious than the credit card in his wallet. There was a picture of him arm wrestling with his nephew, David, when the boy was four years old.

“That hooker havent heard the last of me,” Levi said through clenched teeth.

“Fuck it, man, fuck it. Theres nothing you can do now.”

The Ford veered to one side and Levi grabbed for the wheel, correcting the vehicle.

“Jesus by, keep your eyes on the road. Im coming back tomorrow night, and if I sees her Ill strangle her. If I dont get the wallet back Im calling the cops.”

“You wont be going back there in this vehicle.”

“Is that so?”

“It is so.” Jon chuckled. “Shit man, I can still smell it on you. It must be in your hair or something.”

Levi didn't respond and tried to cast his thoughts away from his embarrassment. He drifted into a trance as he stared up at the moon, a habit of his when he was very drunk in the night.

“I hope I can get a hold of me credit card company before she gets a chance to rack it up.” The truth was that there wasn't much left to rack up on it. Jon didn't respond, however, and when Levi looked over at him he was asleep, and the van was veering again to the other side of the road.

Levi saw the hitchhiker as a phantom in the headlights. He sloppily reached for the wheel and managed to clear the hitchhiker, so close that he could not understand how he didn't hear at least a small thud of the body against the door.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Jon said, waking up and taking over as if nothing had happened.

“You barely missed that hitchhiker! Let me drive for Jesus sake.”

“What hitchhiker? You think I cant drive?”

“By youre a better man than me if you can drive asleep.”

“I wasnt asleep.”

“Goddamn it, Im not going to argue with you. Pull over or Ill shove her up in neutral.”

“Fuck you, cracker.”

“Youll be hauling that gear shift out of your ass if I got to say it again.”

“Try it.”

Levi grabbed the shifter and rammed the transmission into neutral. The Ford revved over to Jon's cursing as he put it back in drive, and once again Levi rammed it in neutral. They did this two more times until Jon slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road, and Levi's face thumped against the windshield.

Levi leaned back and held the side of his face.

“Do you think Id let a crazy, drunk fucking Indian like you marry my beautiful daughter?” Levi said.

“Youre the drunk, buddy, not me. You think I havent seen the flask you hide in your pocket?”

With this Levi opened the door of the Ford and jumped out. Jon sped off with the passenger door still swinging. At about a half mile away the brake lights flashed for an instant, and then he was gone.

Levi walked.

Few cars passed him, and when they did he didn't bother to hitchhike. Who was going to pick up a shirtless middle aged man? His hope was that eventually Jon would come to his senses and turn around. He reached into his pocket to call Sinead on his cell phone, but it was gone, along with his cigarettes, which angered him more than the phone. It was in the middle of May, and although it was cold, the alcohol was numbing him. But as he continued to walk and began to shiver, he forgot about any kind of plan to get back to camp. Instead his focus became one thing. Putting one foot in front of the other.

Eventually he came to a bridge that he couldn't remember passing on the way in. It was too dark to tell how far down it was to the water, but he could hear it roaring beneath. Still very drunk he decided to sit down and rest against the rail. He closed his eyes.

“Taking a nap?” said a voice.

Levi could barely make him out in the darkness, but the shape of
a young man stood before him in a red hoodie. Across the front was
written, HARVARD.

“Resting me eyes,” Levi mumbled. His head was fuzzy, and he
was now shivering uncontrollably.

“Your friend must have been resting his eyes too when he nearly
ran me over back there.”

“Said he didnt see you.”

“Or was it an impaired reaction time?”

“How long…you been walking behind me?” Levi said, and was
amused at how difficult it was to form words.

“Im walking ahead of you. I came back to give you a hand.”

“Head of me?”

“Im hitchhiking all over North America. Now I need to see the
oil sands.”

“How you ahead?”

“Ahead, behind, what difference does it make? How far is it to
the Erbacor Energy project?”

“Hour. Security gate though.”

“Ill worry about the security. Wheres your shirt?”

“Hooker. Pissed on me.”

“How much did you have to pay for that?”

“Go to hell,” Levi said, and nodded towards the young man's
shirt. “Harvard? That supposed to be best university?”

“Youre damn right it is. Fuck Cambridge.”

“Whats a scholar like you doing on the road?”

“No better way to see it old sport. Something to keep in my heart
before it gets dirtied up with politics. North America is the promised
land, brother. The rest of the world is archaic. Weve got everything
we need right here. Praise Jesus!”

“Politics?”

“That's right. Im going to be a great leader someday.”

“Yes by. Good for you.”

“You think Im crazy.”

“No. Thinks youre a young fella. Talking to me. In the dark.”

“Oh I see. You think Im dangerous.”

“Never said that.”

“But you think it.”

“Should I?”

“Well, theres a gun under my shirt, but you dont have anything
to worry about.”

“Hope not. What part of U.S you from?”

“Oh, all over.”

Levi nodded and closed his eyes.

“Your friend is parked on the side of the road, by the way, not
much further ahead.”

Levi looked up and searched the darkness of the young man's hood
for a face, but could make out only a faint outline. “How you know that?”

“Relax, Levi. Your native friend is fine.”

“How you know my name? Who the fuck is you?”

“Dont be paranoid. You were mumbling in your sleep.”

“Didnt know I was. Asleep.”

Levi squinted up at the young man that shimmered and swayed
out of focus. Why couldnt he see his face? Was it so dark?

“You real?” Levi said, but he wasnt sure if he said it in his mind
or out loud. Either way the young man responded.

“I wish I wasnt. Then my legs wouldnt ache like they do. Scooch
over. I need a rest too.”

The young man sat down next to Levi and groaned in relief as
he leaned against the rail.

“Is the blood because of your friend?” asked the young man.

“I forgot I had blood on me,” said Levi.

“Sir?” said a voice.

Levi opened his eyes to see a native police officer staring at him out of the passenger side window of his idling cruiser on the other side of the bridge.

“Are you okay?”

“Best kind,” Levi said.

“You dont look best kind. Why arent you wearing a shirt?”

“Its in me friends car. I got out to take a leak and he took off without me.”

“Sounds like a good friend. Why is there blood on you? Youre shaking like a leaf.”

“I must have fell down somewhere,” Levi said, and tried to smile. He was doing his best to hold together some semblance of dignity, but it was hard without a shirt, a gashed head, stinking with urine, and so hung over that he felt he might pass out. He could see the police officer sizing him up, gauging the truth in his words. He was asked what kind of vehicle his friend was driving and he responded, a Toyota Matrix.

The officer turned on his emergency lights and stepped out of the vehicle, with his right hand close to his unbuttoned holster. He didnt look nervous, just careful as a matter of routine.

“Have you been drinking, sir?”

“I had a few.”

“How many is a few?”

“Seven or eight.”

“You have a gash on the left side of your head.”

“Im alright,” Levi said, touching it delicately with his fingers, “its not bleeding anymore.”

“You might need stiches.”

“Im fine.”

“You really should get it stitched. And you look to have the symptoms of mild hypothermia. If it had rained you could have easily died out here.”

“Im not going to no hospital to get me head stitched. Itll grow over.”

“So youre refusing medical aid?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. You still have to come with me though.”

“Why? Am I under arrest?”

“The last time I checked, public drunkenness was against the law, so I can formally arrest you if you want.”

Once they were in the car the police officer turned around.

“How about your friend, the one who left you here?”