Chapter 43: Après-Tea

[lloigor]

 

Chuck’s mouth was occupied with a fish sandwich with what for him had an unnatural amount of greens on it. “Don’t make a face,” Ginnie advised, from the kitchen chair sitting across from him at the tiny table that served as Betty’s eating area. “Don’t tell me that you are like the rest of the guys who have to have meat on meat and maybe some cheese as food.” She made sure that Betty wasn’t in earshot and conveyed the advice/criticism quietly.

Chuck grinned and reached for the tea that he was using to wash down the sandwich, and took a healthy swallow. “It’s a good sandwich, but I am not used to my sandwiches being that healthy,” he said. “Once I started school and was making my lunch every day, I got used to bologna on my sandwiches.”

“You really ate bologna?”  Ginnie’s voice carried an appalled note that was hard to ignore.

“If I didn’t I would have to eat whatever leftovers were available from the Sarkomand and I was sick of Leng food at that time.”  Chuck smiled at Ginnie, “I suppose that you are going to lecture me about how lucky I am to  have that wonderful ethnic food as a lunch?”

The look on Ginnie’s face defined “aghast”. “We ate bologna when we were poor and couldn’t get anything else.”

“Well, since I wasn’t working for the family when I was in school, I suppose that you could have labelled me as poor.” Chuck answered while he wiped his chin with the cotton napkin. “So you didn’t feel the flow in the vault until you actually sat down and concentrated?”

Ginnie had just stuffed the last of her sandwich in her mouth, She nodded.

“Man, I wish I could make it so that I have an on-off switch for feeling it like that.”

Ginnie finished chewing and swallowed. “I never thought of it that way, The elders at the church have spent so much time trying to get me to the point where I can feel it, I can’t imagine just having it on all the time.”

Betty came over from the sink where she had been rinsing the bowls and pans from preparation. “I am curious about that myself Chuck?”  She pulled up the extra chair from just inside the living room into the dining area of the kitchen and looked at Chuck intently.

“You guys are acting just like Grandma Pakheng.”  He mumbled under his breath.

“You want to elaborate on that cryptic little statement?”  The questioning tone didn’t make it seem any less a demand.

“I just have always been able to feel it.”  Chuck took a sip from his mug of tea.  Ginnie kept her giggle to herself when she saw that his pinky was up.

“That is rare in our church,” Said Betty.

“I think that you know about our culture?”  Chuck said, looking back and forth at the two women.  “Well, when grandma Pakheng found out that I saw the dzau chonlep, she tried to move heaven and earth to get me to come and study under her.  She wasn’t at all happy when I told her that I wasn’t going to be an engineer not a flipping priest.”

“That must have been hard.” Ginnie smiled. “Impressed that you were able to hold to that. I met Grandma Pakheng once and I couldn't imagine for a moment standing up to her.”

“It might have had something to do with my eating that much bologna.” Chuck said with a wry smile.

“But you are here now and it looks to be you are going to be part of us?” Betty asked, her best game face on.  Her look was intent and astonishingly neutral.

“You mean am I gonna stay and be a part of this?”

“I guess, yeah.”

Chuck got up without asking and went to the kitchen where he put the crumbs into the compost can and rinsed off his dishes . “I tried my damndest to go into straight white-folk land, but the white folk who were already there cut that out from underneath me, I was looking at going back into the family business.”  He sat back down and looked at the two women.  So when the family started buying up the land and my Grandpa moved here, I jumped at it and started pulling everything together for my forge.”

“How did Grandma Pakheng take that?” Asked Betty? “She must have been a little annoyed.”

“No, she didn’t say a thing, which surprised me, but I forgot about it quick when I made the decision, got busy getting ready and finding the stuff that I needed.”

“So she was good with you leaving Buffalo?”

“Apparently it made her happy, I found out the money that I had borrowed from my Dad was actually hers.”

“So what are you thinking now?” Asked Ginnie.  “I get the idea that you are like me, I’m starting to suspect that what I thought were my decisions were planned out for me and I just stumbled into someone else’s plan.

“Wait a minute Ginnie, no one is planning your life for you.” Protested Betty as she came back with three cups of tea (Hibiscus Mint, her longtime favorite).

Chuck thanked her and took a sip from the cup. “You know, this is great tea and I am going to ask you where you get it later on, but sometimes I still would really like a Mountain Dew.”

All three of them laughed for a minute and some of the tension fled from the room.

“Betty, it isn’t folks here...I am pretty certain that it isn’t ‘folks’, I think that something else is setting it up and I don’t really have a choice in what is heading my way.”  Ginnie said looking a Chuck.

“Gotta back you on this one Ginnie, The fact that Grandma Pakheng let me go so easy is almost proof.  That woman gets her way.”

Suddenly Betty just put her hands over the two younger peoples hands.  “Just so that you know, us elders have been told to keep on our side of the field, that we are supposed to only advise, but that you younger people have to make the decisions.”

“What?” Ginnie and Chuck looked startled.

“Just that, Ginnie, you were there when Nyarlathotep visited, well, he came back yesterday to warn us Elders off trying to tell you what to do.”

“But I don’t know what I am supposed to do?”

“When I went in there this morning I almost felt like I was drug in against my will.” Chuck broke into the fearful staring match that Ginnie and Betty were having.  “But all that flow of force made me realize that I needed to do something and that I was here for a reason.”  His head sank, “I also knew that I was supposed to figure it out myself.”

Ginnie’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any bigger. “I think that I need to sit down by myself and think.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, I can only advise.” Betty said. “whatever is happening here is moving and is starting to pick up speed. It looks to me like you two are a couple of important pieces.  You two might need to go down to the Church and lounge in the basement for a while and figure out what us happening.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Chuck said, Standing up and picking up the cups to ferry out to the kitchen. “I would say that we should go over to the mess hall, but I have a sneaking hunch that group isn’t my main focus anymore.”