Earl walked down the hall and asked the nice nurse whether she had any fingernail clippers—or even better, toenail clippers. “Oh, yes,” she said. “We need those around here sometimes.”

  So Earl borrowed the clippers and walked back to the room. Teller was still telling his story, so Earl said, “Go ahead. Keep talking, but I’ve gotta keep a promise.” He pulled the covers off Teller’s feet, bent over, and took a good look at Teller’s toenails.

  But Teller had quit talking. He looked at Earl and nodded. He obviously understood.

  Earl clipped the nail on Teller’s big toe first. He was careful to cut it straight across and not to press the clipper in too deep. He trimmed each toenail on Teller’s ugly old left foot and then moved on to the right one. And all the while, no one said a word. When he was finished, he didn’t rub Teller’s feet with lotion, but he laughed and gave them each a quick little massage. “There. How was that?” he asked.

  “Thanks, Earl,” Teller said. But tears had filled Teller’s eyes. Earl’s own eyes were getting blurry, so he kept his head down. When he finally looked up, Teller said, “You’re a good man, Earl—the best guy I’ve ever known.”

  Ray went the extra mile—or actually about fifteen extra miles. He told Earl there was a major airport north of Hartford that had connections to cities across the country. Earl told him that he didn’t need to go so far out of his way, but after Teller checked out of the hospital, Ray drove them all north and then stopped at a Days Inn not far from the airport. Teller walked in with Earl, just to be sure he got checked in all right. Ray also walked in, probably to look after Teller.

  One problem was that most of the tote bags Earl and Teller had brought for luggage had ended up in the Oldsmobile. But Earl had a change of clothes with him for now, and Teller promised to mail him the other bags. “Never mind,” Earl said. “All my clothes are from the last century. I’ll get me some new stuff when I get home.”

  Teller laughed at that, but not with his usual volume.

  Earl asked the desk clerk in the motel if it was all right to pay in cash. The young man said that was fine, but he still wanted an imprint of a credit card, so Earl dug one out, no longer worried about doing that.

  Teller was standing next to Earl, and Ray had hold of Teller. Earl figured they must look like a strange trio, Larry and Moe, now with their own Curly. Teller must have felt a need to explain to the clerk the reason for Earl’s lack of luggage. “You have to understand, Blake,” he said, “we’ve had quite an adventure.”

  The man had a name tag on, so there was no difficulty knowing what his name was, but Earl never would have thought to use it.

  “We drove all the way out here from Utah,” Teller said, “and I was behind the wheel every mile until we reached Hartford. But we had a mix-up along the way. We were mistaken for a couple of criminals, and as you can probably see, we do look like dangerous fellows.” He grinned. “Of course it was all a mistake, but we ended up having to change our identities, repaint our car, and take on the personalities—and hair—of younger men. That was not a problem, but at one point, we had to run from a highway patrolman, veer into a side road, almost turn our car over, then double back and follow minor roadways. We stayed at dumpy motels and never used cell phones—which can ping off towers and give your location away. We talked our way out of almost certain incarceration a few times, and on one occasion a policeman made me put my hands on my car and spread my legs. He was ready to pat me down, cuff me, and read me my Miranda rights, but I made an impassioned plea for our innocence, and the truth of my claims moved him to tears. We experienced every kind of excitement, and even heartbreak, along the way. The beautiful young woman who dyed our hair fell in love with Earl, and she wanted to run off with him, but what could he do? He was a fugitive, on the lam, and we couldn’t bear to include her in our dangerous escapade, so he broke her heart—and his own—and we fled the place just as a policeman picked up our scent.

  “I own a ’57 Oldsmobile in cherry condition—one I restored myself—and we jumped in and continued our run to freedom. But further disguise was necessary, so we had my beautiful blue car painted black to avoid detection. We traveled on to this state so we could reach my son, the gentleman clinging to my arm right now for my protection. And I might add, he’s a top executive in the corporate world. The happy news is, we’ve been able to clear our names now, but as we were arriving in Hartford, I experienced a stroke that nearly took my life. Earl here took over the driving, and in a frantic attempt to reach a hospital, he sideswiped a Honda Accord, imperiling him and me both, but especially me, since I had lost consciousness. But I was raced to a hospital, and so was Earl, and we’re both doing fine now. Our only problem is that all our possessions were in the car, and it’s been towed away. Earl is flying home to Utah tomorrow, and I’m staying with my son, and eventually we’ll get our luggage back and all our possessions, but for the present, Earl is heading home with little more than the clothes on his back.”

  Teller took a breath. So did Earl.

  Blake seemed to like the story. He was smiling with a fine array of straightened teeth. He looked at Earl. “If you need a razor or toothbrush—anything like that—I have a kit. And I can direct you to a convenience store nearby where you can pick up other items you may need.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Teller said. “I feel better dropping him off, just knowing that you’ll take care of him. I know he doesn’t look it, but he’s well over ninety. To tell the truth—and Earl is the first to admit this—he is a little forgetful at times.”

  “Don’t worry,” Blake said. He looked at Earl. “I’ll look out for you.”

  “I’m only eighty-nine,” Earl muttered. But Teller, by then, was pointing to a sitting area in the lobby. “Why don’t we all sit down for a minute or two,” he said. So the three of them walked to the chairs, Ray still staying close to Teller.

  “You’ve gone back to making things up,” Earl said. “I thought you’d repented from all that.”

  “What did I make up? All of that stuff happened, didn’t it?”

  “Not exactly. For one thing, Safire didn’t fall in love with me, and I certainly didn’t fall in love with her. By the time we left, she liked you better than me.”

  “No. I think she fell in love with those muscular men on the island.”

  “What?” Ray asked.

  “It’s quite a story,” Teller said. “When I was out to sea one time, I ended up stranded on a small atoll inhabited by—”

  “Why don’t you tell him later,” Earl said. “The day’s going to be gone if you start into all that.”

  Ray seemed to be enjoying the interchange between Teller and Earl. “I’m going to make my father tell me all about your trip—his version—and then I’m going to call you, Earl. That way I can find out what really happened.”

  Earl and Teller grinned at each other, and Teller said, “He’s on to me already.”

  Ray looked delighted.

  But Teller did sound serious when he said, “So, Earl, you say you’re going to move when you get home. Are you sure you won’t lose your nerve when Becky gets you to herself?”

  “No. I’m not backing down. But I’ll admit, I’m a little worried about . . . you know . . . my future. It upsets me that I got so mixed up after I wrecked the car. That’s exactly what Becky notices in me sometimes, and that’s why she thinks I need help. Maybe, before long, I’ll have to give in to accepting more help.”

  “But I’ll tell you what, Earl,” Teller said. “You know a lot, and you’ve taught me plenty. I think you’re good to go for quite a while yet. You’ll do a lot better if you can make your own decisions and go for walks—things like that. Once you give up on that, there’s not much to live for.”

  “Teller, is that what you think, that it’s better to die before we can’t think right?”

  “I don’t know, Earl. You’re the one who told me it’s not our choice. I’ve decided I’m going to take my blood pressure medicine and the other meds my doc gave me. I’m thinking I want to live a while yet, and I need to make the best of the time I have left.”

  “But you keep asking me what we have left to live for. What do you think about that now?”

  “I want to get to know my children and grandchildren.” He looked over at his son. “Maybe Sharon will even be willing to come over and chat with me once. I’d like to know about her life, and I’d like to let her know I really am sorry I wasn’t a better husband.”

  “I can’t promise you that she’ll see you,” Ray said. “I’ll talk to her, though. We’ll see what happens.”

  “Mostly,” Teller said, “I want to talk to my grandkids, find out what they want out of life, maybe even guide them a little. I even want to tell them some of the stories from my life—others, not so much.” He grinned. “But I think I’ve learned a few things along the way. I might as well try to explain some of that. Who knows? It might be worth something to them.”

  “They need to get to know you,” Earl said. “I have no doubt, they’ll like you.”

  “I hope so. I’d really like that.”

  “So call me and tell me how all that goes. Let’s keep track of each other for, you know, many years to come.”

  “Right. Many years.”

  Teller nodded, and everyone stood up. And then Earl did something that felt awkward. He stepped closer and reached his arms around Teller. They both slapped each other on the back a lot—and laughed. Then after, they stepped back and looked at each other. They both nodded, didn’t come up with any words, but they tried to smile.

  Chapter

  After Teller and Ray left, Earl went back to the desk and asked Blake for help in arranging his travel home. Blake went online and found a flight that Earl could take the next day, one that wasn’t too early in the morning. Earl gave him his credit card again, this time to pay the airfare. Earl wondered how he could get his ticket, but Blake explained about electronic tickets. The idea worried Earl a little, but Blake assured him he wouldn’t have any trouble.

  Blake also lent Earl his phone so he could call Becky. When Becky answered, Earl said, “Hello. It’s me again. I just wanted to let you know I’m flying home tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Dad, that’s wonderful. That’s the best news I’ve heard.”

  “I found a flight that comes in tomorrow night at about seven o’clock. Can you pick me up?” He had the flight number written on a note Blake had given him, and he gave the number to Becky.

  “What about Teller?” Becky asked. “I thought you couldn’t leave him.”

  Earl explained to her what Teller was going to do. She was happy for Teller, she said, and she promised to pick Earl up at the airport.

  “The only thing is,” Earl said, “you might not know me. After the police sent out pictures of us, we decided to change how we looked. We both had our hair dyed. We went to one of those salon places. My hair is brown now, and I put some goop on my face—tanning stuff—and it still hasn’t worn off.”

  “Dad, I can’t believe you did that.”

  Earl laughed. “We were on the lam, Becky—staying ahead of the cops. We just did what we had to do.”

  “You sound like you were having fun.”

  “Well, it does seem kind of fun when I think back on it, but I wouldn’t want to do it again.” And yet, he laughed. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.”

  “All right. I just hope life isn’t going to be too dull for you from now on.”

  “That’ll be okay. At least for a while.”

  Earl said goodbye, took the phone to Blake, then went to his room and straight to bed. He didn’t have any trouble falling asleep.

  When Earl came down the escalator in the airport the next evening, he saw Becky and Russ standing together, Becky waving and looking happy. Russ teased Earl about his dark hair, and Earl felt rather foolish again, but he was glad to be home. As they drove from the parking garage, Earl asked, “Are you taking me back to Valleyview?”

  “No, Dad,” Becky said, “we’re taking you to our house.” Russ was driving, and Becky had put Earl in the front passenger seat. Becky was in the back, but she was leaning forward. “We need to talk about where you’ll be living, but for now we want you to stay with us.”

  Earl wasn’t happy about that, but he didn’t want to say it. He wasn’t going to start a fuss all over again, just after arriving.

  When they got to Becky and Russ’s house, Shannon and Jonny were waiting for them. The kids had apparently been told that he’d have dyed hair, but they didn’t seem prepared to see him that way. “Grandpa,” Jonny said, “you look weird. I don’t know who I’m looking at.”

  “I know what you mean,” Earl said. “I feel a shock every time I look in a mirror.”

  “Who dyed it like that?” Shannon asked.

  “A woman at a salon. Her name was Safire—not her real name, but the one she liked. She had one of those funny-looking nose rings and a thing like a nail through her eyebrow. Her hair was red and . . . I don’t know . . . blue, I think, and three or four other colors. I got mine dyed caramel brown, but Teller wanted highlights, so Safire put tinfoil in his hair and folded it over into strips. She painted some strips reddish brown and others a lighter color. It looked really bad, if you ask me, but that’s what he wanted.”

  By then the kids were laughing uncontrollably. Earl thought it was funny too, but not quite that funny. Jonny was making choking noises, he was laughing so hard, so Earl left off his story. He only said, “I’ve got a lot more stuff to tell you—some things even crazier than getting our hair dyed.”

  “Grandpa, you’re my new hero,” Jonny said. “I didn’t think you had it in you. Mom said you were running from the police.”

  “Well, a little bit. But you know, Teller was driving. I never would have done anything like that. And you shouldn’t either.”

  Somehow, this was the funniest thing yet—at least to Jonny. Earl worried about that. He didn’t want the boy to think it was all right to do things that were clearly illegal.

  Becky had prepared Zach’s room for Earl. He was tired, so he excused himself early and slipped away to be alone. He went to bed, but there were too many thoughts working their way through his head. He didn’t know where he would live now. He knew he needed to settle somewhere, but he found himself wishing he could have stayed on the road, maybe gone to the South, seen Savannah and some of the places he had always wanted to visit.

  Earl finally did fall asleep, but he woke early and then waited for the sound of someone getting up. Once the stir began, it was like an eggbeater—lots of voices, phones sounding with strange ringtones. And then he smelled bacon. So he dressed and walked out to the kitchen. When Becky accused him of sleeping late, he didn’t correct her. “As soon as I get these guys out of the house, we’ll run over to your old room and pick up the things you need. But sit down and eat. I don’t often cook a nice breakfast like this. It’s usually Cheerios and a banana. Don’t start thinking I’m going to fix you bacon and eggs every morning.”

  “All right,” Earl said, but he didn’t like what she was implying: that he would be staying long term.

  After everyone cleared out, Becky drove Earl to Valleyview, and they collected the clothes and personal items he needed, along with his phone. They managed to avoid Mrs. Schmidt, and even though Mrs. Kritchlow was quite nice to Earl, Becky didn’t admit to her that Earl would be moving out. They also didn’t say much about Earl’s trip, even though Mrs. Kritchlow tried to entice them into making accusations against Teller.

  They got out as quickly as they could and headed home. And then, back at the house, Becky said, “Dad, I’m going to have to go over to my office for a while, but before I leave, sit down with me for a few minutes. We need to talk.”

  So Becky and Earl sat down at the kitchen table, where the aroma of bacon still lingered. Becky mixed up a couple of mugs of hot chocolate and heated them in the microwave, then brought them to the table. “For right now, Dad,” she told Earl, “I’d like you to plan on living with us. We have a lot to figure out, but we both agree that you’re not going back to Valleyview.”

  “That’s right,” Earl said. “But there’s something I need to say before we talk about anything else. I don’t want to go back to the way things were—just sitting around. I need to figure out what I can still do with my life.”

  “Actually, I’m very glad to hear you say that. You told me that you want to have more influence on your grandkids. Do you think—”

  “But I don’t know if I can. You heard how Shannon and Jonny laughed at me last night. To them I’m not old and wise; I’m old and ridiculous.”

  “But it was funny to hear about the girl who dyed your hair. What my kids don’t know is who you’ve been all your life. You need to share what you know, what you’ve experienced.”

  Earl sipped at his hot chocolate. He was trying to think how to explain what he was feeling. “They don’t sit still long enough to have that kind of conversation, Becky. And anyway, that girl at the truck stop didn’t know me; she was missing her grandpa, so she listened. But the truth is, I didn’t say anything very important.”

  “Okay. That’s something I’ve thought about. I’ve tried to get you to write your life history, and you haven’t wanted to. But what if I asked you questions, and you could tell me about your life, and we could record what you say. Years from now, after you’re gone, your grandkids—and their kids—will hear your voice telling your own story. I could even have it transcribed, and we could include pictures and turn it into a book.”

  “I guess we could do that. But you don’t have time to sit and listen to me.”

  “That’s something else I’ve been thinking about. I’m too busy for my family, for you, and even too busy to spend a little time with myself. I’ve been worried about paying for college and missions and all that, so I took this job, but I need to cut back. Russ and I had a long talk yesterday, and we’ve come up with a plan. I’m going to give notice at work, and then I’ll take on a couple of clients and do part-time work from home. We can get by, we’ve decided, and I think we’ll be happier.”

 

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