Arizonian Pride

Arizonian Pride Chapter 12

“Hey, Mack. Pass the ball!”

“Who, me? I don’t have it.”

“Huh, wait. I thought you were Mack.”

“No, I’m Neil. Been living in here fer twenty over years and still can’t remember names well, eh, Jim?”

“Sorry.”

It was a sunny Sunday, mid-afternoon at the Whitercolls’ Texan Old Folks Home. The Whitercolls an idyllic barbeque in their backyard. The still able-bodied residents are having a game of ball. Everyone was having a good, uninterrupted time, until……

SCREEEECH!

William Whitercolls jumped at the sound. His freshly-roasted chicked nearly flew out of his pan. He peeked from behind his house to see a cloud of dust just settling before an old, rickety car with dark-tinted windows.

“Who in blazes is that?”

The Texan father put his food down, wiped his hands, and walked to the new visitors.

“Howdy, folks! What brings y’all here?” he hollered at them.

A dark-skinned, white-bearded man stepped out of the car. He was followed by a Native American women and a few more men in business casual attire. They stood in front of William.

“Howdy, my dear fellow,” the dark-skinned man greeted William in a low, masculine voice. “Are you Mr. William Whitercolls?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I’m Professor George Smith, Anthology professor from the University of Texas, and this is my team of research.” He gestured at the people with him. They nodded in acknowledgement.

“Anthology? That’s cool!” William exclaimed. “What’s it about? Humanity? History, culture and all that stuff?”

“Basically anything human-related,” the professor replied casually.

“I see. So how can I help you?”

“My team and I are here to study on how elderly people fare when they far away from their families, say, like, when they’re living in an old folks home.”

“Oh, my residents are faring just fine, professor. We take good care of ‘em.”

Just then, Susan Whitercoll came out of the house, humming a cheerful tune. As soon as she caught sight of her new visitors, she rushed to her husband’s aid.

“Honey, who are these people?”

William introduced his new guests to his wife. “These people have come here from the University of Texas to do some research on old people.”

“Yes, that’s true,” the professor said. “You’re Susan Whitercoll, right?” He pointed at her.

“Yes. Why?”

“Great. You two are just the people I want to see. I heard from my colleagues at the U that you have running a pretty good old folks’ business here.”

“That’s true, come on in!” Susan said cheerfully.

The Whitercolls gave them a quick tour around the interiors of the house and went back outside.

“... and her are all our residents,” William gestured to their backyard where some of them are still playing ball. “We’ve got just twenty of ‘em here — not too many, or we’re gonna need a new building. Is that enough, Professor Smith?”

“Yup, twenty should be enough,” he nodded as he took some notes in his notepad.

“Hey, you wanna share some of my roasted chicken?” William remembered his cooking. “You’re free to join our barbeque!”

“Sure, let’s have a seat, folks!”

The Whitercolls chatted idly with Professor Smith and his team under an umbrella as the game of ball continued beside them.

“I’m honored you’d come all the way here from Austin to do your research. Thanks for choosing our place,” Susan beamed.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Mrs. Whitercoll. I checked your website. It looks good.”

“Thanks.”

“So how are you gonna do your research? What’s the procedure?” William asked.

“Oh, we’re just gonna observe the old folks and take notes, and we’ll interview a couple of them, too, if necessary.”

William nodded. “Sounds simple enough.”

“Yeah. Simple. Hey, what else do you folks do for a living?” The professor asked suddenly.

“Uh, we… we do business with other companies?” Susan started nervously.

“We… do property surveys! Yeah, we do,” william backed her up.

“Property surveys?”

“Yeah. We go around empty properties and homes that people have abandoned to check out the area and see if it’s safe to live in.”

“You never know what kind of weird stuff you may find UNDER any land.”

“I see. So you two are land surveyors of some sort.”

“Yeah, something like that,” William shrugged.

“So, you do surveys on ONLY unoccupied lands?”

“Yeah, unless someone living on that land calls us to survey his land for some reason.”

“Can’t be too careful,” Susan said.

“I see. Alright. I’m off to do my research.”

The professor stood up, but William jumped up and stopped him. “Oh wait, wait, wait. Before you start, lemme suggest you take home some of our delicious Whitercoll Marinated Beef in Hot Hickory Sauce.” William went back to his cooking and put a fresh helping on a clean plate. He brought it to the table. “It’s been a homemade family recipe for decades.”

“Well, I thank you all for your hospitality and for granting me permission to do my research on your property, folks. I will be bringing home some bacon today with the data collected, but it won’t be the kind on your dining tables,” the professor said kindly.

“Uh, sure! But maybe you can substitute bacon with… say, chicken? Our eldest son’s a Muslim, you see, so yeah……”

“So I’ve noticed, Mr. Whitercoll,” the sheriff smiled at Malachi.

“How far’s your home? Perhaps I can send your food there via airmail or post.”

“Heh-heh-heh. Very funny.”

The professor decided this was the perfect timing. He whipped out some handcuffs from his coat. “William and Susan Whitercoll. In the name of the law, I arrest the two you under the crimes of planning unauthorised and environmentally-harmful excavation on private lands, infringing the personal rights of a retired elderly man, and for conducting illegal business which caused the death of the aforementioned elderly man!”

Gasps escaped all corners of the Whitercolls’ Texan Old Folks’ Home.

“WHAT?!” Susan screamed as her hands were pulled back behind her.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Just wait a minute. Aren’t you were an anthology professor?!” a baffled William cried out, struggling to break free from one of the “researchers”.

The “professor” removed his outer coat, revealing a bright golden badge with the word “SHERIFF” on his shirt, and pulled out his ID card from his pocket and flashed it at William. “Didn’t see that coming, eh?”

William and Susan lowered their eyes and their heads. It was all over for them now.

Sheriff Reddock said some things into his walkie-talkie, and out stepped Raymond and O’Malley from his car. At the sight of him, Malachi, Chelsea, Serafina and Melvin came running out to the front of the house, still chewing on their food. “BROTHER! YOU’RE BACK!” Serafina shouted with utter joy and ran to hug her brother.

“GUYS!” Raymond ran to his siblings and grandfather, arms open wide. They embraced. Their grandpa joined in. O’Malley smiled at them.

“RAYMOND! Where have you been?” Melvin asked him.

Raymond giggled. “Uh, I rode out on Chestnut to, uh, look at some country wildlife! I… like nature,” he lied.

“That’s funny. I remember your siblings telling your parents you were out visiting some girl in California,” Melvin teased.

“Th-hey what?”

“It was the best excuse we and grandpa could come up with,” Malachi whispered and winked at Melvin. Melvin winked back.

Raymond’s parents stared at their son who had disappeared from home some weeks without as much as a goodbye. The sheriff turned to them.

“Welp, I’m sorry for casting a shadow upon your happy little barbeque. BUT, in the name of business, as the youngsters say today, Sorry-Not-Sorry!”

“You’re the sheriff? I thought ol’ Rick was the sheriff in our county. I checked the bloody website!” William protested.

“Ol’ Rick retired a few months ago. And nobody puts a black man’s picture on the sheriff’s website, even though he’s taking over. ‘Fraid that’s how it works…,” Sheriff Reddock sighed.

The Sheriff and his officers dragged the two parents to their car with the children watching them. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Chelsea spoke up first. “Wh-what’s happening?”

“Sh-Sheriff Reddock? Are you really arresting our parents?” Malachi asked.

It didn’t seem like these parents are going to spill it, so the Deputy did the job for them.

“Kids, your parents are gonna have to do time for the bad things they’ve done. I’m sure you know what they are by now. Everything they’ve done to Randy and his ranch and all… We’ll have to punish your parents for all that. But don’t worry, kids, it’s not for forever, I only hope ten years will be enough for them to learn their lessons and never do what they did again.”

“ ‘Do time’? What does that mean?” Serafina asked.

“That means they’ll have to go to jail, or do community service to make up for their wrongdoings, whatever the judge will decide.”

“For TEN YEARS?!” Chelsea exclaimed.

“Yes.”

Silence.

“Oh, yes,” the Sheriff suddenly remembered. He pointed at Raymond. “Thank you for bringing this whole thing to my attention all the way from New Mexico.”

William and Susan jerked their heads in Raymond’s direction. “Wait, WHAT?! What does that mean? Children, tell me, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!”

“RAYMOND! It’s YOU who owe us an explanation now,” Susan lost all of her kindness and tenderness as a mother and barked at her child. It was very hard to do with your body is pressed against a hot car under the sun.

Raymond looked into his mother’s teary eyes, blood red from her anger. He wanted to just run to his mom and hug her and apologise and for her to tell him that everything is still okay between them, that they’re still mother and child. But he couldn’t. Raymond boldly stepped up to his parents, fighting back tears himself. Here it comes.

“Mom and dad, I’m sorry, but I’M the one who reported you to the sheriff. I had help from a new friend.” He gestured at O’Malley, who was bracing for the worst.

“So you weren’t in California after all,” William fumed. The parents stared speechlessly at their child as if the devil had possessed him and shred his good-boy persona to pieces. The sheriff maintained his cool in the heated moment. Melvin, Malachi, Chelsea and Serafina glanced at each other helplessly.

William snapped out of his disbelief quicker than his wife. He glared at his second child.

“So who’s going to take care of the Old Folks’ Home now?” he snapped.

“As well as all of its residents?” Susan followed. “Are you, Raymond? Tell me, are you? Huh?”

“Well, Susan, if we end up losing our jobs, our kids might have to drop out of school and find work to live for themselves.”

“Noooooo!” Serafina wailed, tears welling up in her eyes. “I don’t wanna quit school. I don’t wanna leave all my friends. I don’t wanna work yet. I wanna play!” she bawled. Chelsea ran over and hugged her sister. Melvin sighed and rubbed his temples.

“I can’t believe this. I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” William continued grumbling. “Here I am, one fine morning, making some nice beef steak for my occupants, and then the next thing I know, my wife and I are being hoarded off to jail thanks to our kids who called the Sheriff!”

“Actually, it’s only one out of four of them,” Sheriff Reddock corrected him. “If you’re gonna punish him once you step outta jail, that’s up to you.” He then chuckled. “But by then he and his beautiful siblings would have probably moved out of this building already, so good luck finding any of them!”

“Doing however much time in jail is one thing. But I can’t believe I am being BETRAYED by my own children. Raymond, you can just give me back that badge of honour I gave you on your 14th birthday!”

In response, Raymond clutched the badge on his shirt tighter and moved away from his father. The Sheriff turned around and looked at his captive square in the eyes. “Hey, you wanna know something about your children, Mr. Whitercoll? I think, all things considered, that your child know s more about the law and abiding by it than YOU do.”

“Are you saying we are worse than our own children, Sheriff Reddock?” William retorted.

The Sheriff removed his hat. “Hey, this is Texas, the Lone Star State. If the boot fits, wear it.”

With that, the officers pushed the two captives into their car and shut the doors, and that would be the last time their four beloved children will see them in a long, long time.

Raymond’s siblings rushed to his side. “Raymond, are you okay?” Malachi shook his brother’s shoulder gently.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine,” Raymond nodded without looking up.

“Are you sure?” Chelsea asked in a soothing voice. “Dad sounded pretty harsh on you.”

“I’m fine, Chelsea. Really. I’ve done what I’ve done.”

“Yeah, you’ve done what you’ve done,” Melvin backed up his second grandson. “They’re bound to have it coming at ‘em anyway, doing what they’re doing.”

“Yeah. But they couldn’t believe that I’m the one who gave it to them.”

“Well, you couldn’t believe they did what they did to Randy, so now it’s their turn.” Raymond nodded.

The sheriff stepped out of his car after talking to someone in the front passenger’s seat. “Whitercolls, before I resume with my job, I’d like you all, or at least the rest of you all, to meet someone.”

The sheriff gently guided the shy, skinny Native American towards the children. “Meet Ralph O’Malley. He came all the way from New Mexico. In, fact, he works there.”

“Hi, O’Malley,” Serafina waved at him. “I’ve seen you before. In the pictures in Randy’s house.” The Navajo man smiled at her.

“Now, I believe, with the legal papers and signatures I now have in my possession, that O’Malley here is to be your temporary guardian until your parents are free to go.”

“Our what? Raymond, what does this mean?” It was Chelsea’s turn to ask him that question.

Her brother merely smiled his signature mischievous grin, and beckoned the tall, bronze Native to come closer. Randy’s ex-boss rubbed his hands nervously as he slowly approached his new family.

“H-hi…”, he muttered shyly.

“Hi, O’Malley. Or ‘Chief’ if that’s what you prefer to be called,” Raymond announced. “This is my family. That’s my grandfather Melvin over there… ”, he gestured to him.

Melvin smiled and shook his new guardian-partner firmly by the hand. “Chief,” he addressed him.

“... and these are my siblings Malachi, Chelsea and Serafina.” The three kids smiled and shook his hands, too. “Hi, Chief,” Serafina chirped.

“Until all four of us are legal to work, do you mind taking care of us until then?”

“Uh… I don’t know, Raymond,” O’Malley hesitated, shuffling his feet. “I mean, it’s the last thing Randy has given me as a gift before he died. He called it my ‘belated Christmas present’, hehe. I should accept it. It’s right thing to do. It’s what I’ve always wanted all my life! But I don’t know if I’ll last long enough to last you all until your parents finished serving their sentences. I mean, look at me, I’m as old as your grandfather!”

Melvin laughed out loud. “Oh hohoho! That’s where you’re not entirely right, mate! You see, I may living the Golden years of my life right now, but I can look after these kids like your Randy can wrangle ‘em horses at his ranch!”

The Navajo man gave him a puzzled look. Melvin cleared his throat.

“What I’m saying is, we may be old people out here, laddie. But I’m sure we can take care of these children as if they are our own flesh and blood. Well, I mean, they are MY flesh and blood, well, at least not directly, but… you get the idea. So-so can you try, O’Malley! C’mon, try and picture them as your own flesh and blood.”

O’Malley did as he was told, with ease. He looked at the faces of these lovely, lovely kids who will become his “own” children until their parents roam free again or until his time runs out. Tears of gratitude, warmth and happiness started welling up in his eyes.

“I can picture these kids as my own just fine, Melvin. It’s just that, well, on the practical side, will I make enough money to keep this family afloat? I’m not exactly retired yet, but I still have my doubts.”

“Tsk-tsk-tsk. Hey. You’re the boss of your Arizonian Archaeological Club. And you’ve got several branches in the country, too, right?”

“No, only in Arizona and New Mexico.”

“Oh, pardon me. But you’re the boss, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. And hey, I’ve got a pension myself too! Don’t mind sharin’ it with these kids a decent amount long as I’m still around.”

The four children beamed and their grandfather’s generosity.

“And how about the museum, Chief? You can earn extra income from there,” Raymond reminded him.

“A museum?” Chelsea arched a blonde eyebrow.

“Yeah. Come in, all of you. And I’ll tell you want Chief and I talked about in New Mexico.”

Raymond’s sisters followed him into the Old Folks’ Home. Only Malachi still stood in between O’Malley and Melvin.

“Why aren’t you following them, Malachi?” Melvin asked.

“Huh? Oh. Later, please. I need to get something straight.”

“What is it?”

“So… you, grandpa, and this man here, ‘Chief’, are going to look after us until our parents are out of jail?”

“That’s right, sonny-boy!”

“Wait, two men as guardians?! Is that even possible?”

“What’s wrong with having two men as guardians, Mal?” Melvin asked his skeptical grandson.

“Uhhh… Nothing. It’s just… it’s just that I never a lot of male couples raising children together in Texas.”

“Well, like the sheriff said just now, ‘This is Texas, the Lone Star State’. Things can happen here.”

“Yeah,” Malachi nodded, “they sure can.” And he walked back inside without saying another word to either elder.

O’Malley sensed the eldest child’s doubt. He knelt down in front of him.

“Malachi, do you feel uncomfortable having me as a stand-in guardian? It’s just for a year or less, and then you’ll be eighteen and free to do whatever you want and... move out of this place, too, if you like!”

“I… Should I call you dad? Or what?”

“No, you don’t have to call me dad if you don’t want to,” he said in his signature warm, gentle tone.

“No, no, no, Chief. It’s not that I feel uncomfortable with you or anything. I… I just need time, ok?” The Muslim teenager dashed to his room, lifting his simple white robe up as he pounded up the stairs. O’Malley stood in the living room, stunned. Melvin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Oh don’t you worry about him, Chief. Poor young lad just saw his parents get chased off to jail and right after that, suddenly, a total stranger barges into his life and wants to be his new guardian. He’s gonna need time, ok?”

O’Malley nodded understandingly. He turned to his guardian-partner. “I just hope the kids won’t grow to hate me or anything.”

“If you could win Raymond over, the rest should be easy,” Melvin smiled.

“Actually… I think it was Raymond who won ME over.”

“Oh, he did?”

“Yeah,” the Native breathed, “he did.”

“Haha! That’s my Raymond. And don’t worry. The kids’ll love ya. I guarantee that. So, you planning to do anything else on a fine day like this?”

O’Malley searched his head for a moment, then shook it. “No, I don’t really have anything else to do today. Today’s a day off for my workers back in New Mexico, so I’m stumped.”

“Well, that’s great!” Melvin cheered.

“ ??? ”

“ ‘Cause now you can come on in and join us! We’ve still got a barbeque going on.”