Arizonian Pride

Arizonian Pride Chapter 11

“OH MY GOSH, SOMEBODY GET HIM DOWN FROM THERE!”

Raymond screamed and burst into the room. He hurriedly pulled out a small pocket knife that he always carried with him. Lightning fast, he climbed onto a small wooden stool that laid a few feet away from the tall, motionless, hanging body. Reaching up as high as he could, he quickly cut the rope hanging from the neck of the body, suspended from the ceiling fan.

The large, lean body dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Raymond got down from the stool and quickly unravelled the rope around the neck. Then he positioned the body so that the person was lying on his back. It was the very person he looking for: Ralph O’Malley.

Raymond began to administer some first aid to the club’s boss. It was another one of the many things he learned from old school trips with classmates. The Navajo man did not give any response. Fearing the worst, Raymond cupped the boss’s face with both hands.

“Mr. O’Malley? Mr. O’Malley! Are you okay? Please, you can’t go now! YOU CAN’T DIE NOW!!!”

A few seconds of dreadful silence. Then O’Malley suddenly jerked his head forward and coughed. He repeated this a few times and began gasping for air. Tears of relief sprang from Raymond’s eyes as the elderly Navajo man slowly sputtered back to life.

O’Malley’s breathing gradually returned to a normal pace. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but blurriness. His vision slowly readjusted and he registered Raymond’s face. They looked at each other in stunned silence for a few moments.

O’Malley slowly regained the strength to stutter, panting. “H-Huh… W-Who are you?”

“Never mind that right now. I’m staying with you until you feel better first, ok?”

O’Malley just kept coughing and wheezing. Raymond tended to him and in less than 30 minutes, O’Malley was sitting calmly on his chair, with a tribal shawl wrapped around him and a mug of hot drink on his working desk. Raymond sat in front of him.

“... Randy told me there were four of you.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Raymond nodded. “I have three other siblings. I’m the second child.”

“You’re awfully brave to come travelling here all the way from Texas,” O’Malley commented. “Man, that state is like… so large I probably wouldn’t find my way outta there if I were to live there!” he chuckled.

“Yeah. It took me some time to get here. Some of the trains and travelling services I ran into wouldn’t accept Chesnut on board. And, of course, let’s not start talking about planes.”

“Chestnut?”

“My horse. He’s a mule. I tied him just outside. I rode him most of the way.”

“Oh.” O’Malley nodded, and the two of them sat in silence for a while.

The Irish-Native descendant then looked at the small silvery badge that Raymond was wearing on his coat.

“Where did you get that?” he pointed at it.

“Oh, this? It’s my family heirloom. Well, it’s sort of a heirloom,” he shrugged. “My parents gave it to me on my 14th birthday. They say it bravery, honesty and righteousness. Sort of, like, our very own ‘nobel prize’ that has been in the family for generations!”

“Your siblings... do they each have one of their own, too?”

“No, there’s only one in the family. I don’t know why, but my parents thought I am the one who deserved this.”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause you do. They could see that you’re the only one among your siblings who embodies those values best.”

“You really think so? Heh.” Raymond blushed and beamed proudly. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. My parents can truly see it in me.”

“But unfortunately, thanks to your parents, too, that we’ve lost Randy.”

The warm glow on Raymond’s face suddenly dissipated. “Yeah. I know.”

O’Malley exhaled. “Randy was a great guy, see. He lived out there in the plain wilderness alone, surviving on what he knows and what he loves to do. He never asked anyone for anything, getting by on his own wits and intelligence. He may not be the friendliest guy you’ve ever met at first but once you get to know him, he’s something. You’ll see.”

O’Malley sniffed and wiped a tear away as he talked about his favourite ex-employee and best friend. “I am one of the very few people that Randy would consider a long-term old pal. Not to brag or anything, but… I will never forget him. I just know I won’t.”

Raymond took in everything the elderly Native just said. How often is it that he comes across a Western tale about the loyal friendship between a white cowboy and a Native?

“And now he’s gone. And there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Raymond was suddenly brought back to his original mission of visiting O’Malley.

“W-wait. Yes. YES! Yes, there IS something that we can do about it. At least something we can do on Randy’s land in his name. I’ve been thinking about this, and, umm…… I have a few ideas.”

O’Malley looked up and gave him a puzzled look. “Like what? N-no offense, but you’re just a child, and you barely know Randy.”

Raymond got up from seat and paced the room. “I may not know him well, O’Malley,” he said in a determined tone. “But I’m not going to sit around knowing that my parents have done and will continue doing illegal and unethical work. An innocent retiree was sacrificed in the process. Something has to be done about it.”

“And you, O’Malley,” Raymond turned to him and pointed a finger at him. “YOU said so yourself that you are one of Randy’s longest known friends. You’re not just going to sit around watching as your best friend’s name, his contributions to society and his legacy just fade away to dust are you? You’re not gonna just sit back let those government peeps do the kind of things that your business is against, are you? As Randy’s old mate and the boss of the Arizonian Archaeology Club branches, you DO care and you DO want to do something about this whole thing. You just don’t know what to do and how!”

Raymond bent down and looked the boss in the eye. “Believe me, O’Malley, if I tell you that I know about the work Randy has done with you and how much he loved it. I stayed at his ranch for a coupla weeks. I saw all the evidence everywhere.”

O’Malley stared at the courageous young child in front him, impressed - so young but already knows what’s right and what’s wrong. And above all, willing to take the necessary risks for it, including the risk of splitting his own family up.

“So what can we do? What do you have in mind?”

Raymond sat back on his chair.

“I propose that although we cannot prevent Randy’s ranch from being torn down, we can still erect something like an Archaeology Museum on that land. If there were any interesting or unique discoveries you, the club and Randy have made, they can be featured in the museum. Also, put up some posters or have talks about the morals, ethics or codes of conduct when excavating a site. That way, the public will remember not only Randy but leave the museum educated about the dos and don’ts of archaeology! Great idea, don’tcha think?”

O’Malley pondered for a while, considering Raymond’s idea. Then he slowly and carefully stood up. He was strong enough to stand even though he just attempted suicide less than an hour ago. He nodded at the boy.

“Hey, yeah. I like your idea! In fact, the club and I have made our best discoveries while Randy was still working with us! We wouldn’t have done them without his help! It’s just that we never really had a place to feature our findings. The world has never known about what we’ve found, or that we try to keep the environment balance while we excavate our sites. I don’t even think the whole of the U.S. knows we exist!”

“EXACTLY!” Raymond jumped in excitement. That’s why a museum would be the perfect plan. It’ll be good for you, the club, and also for Randy.”

“Great, Raymond. Really great. But how would we finance it? We didn’t have a museum or even a single exhibition before because we didn’t have the funds. We can handle the rent, the water, the electricity and the wages and all, but just not a new building.”

Raymond smiled. “I’m sure not all of them who work for the bank or the government are untrustworthy or devious. I’ll try to get them to fund you as a business. Long as you show them the necessary documents and don’t break the laws and everything, it should be fine.”

“Wow,” O’Malley gasped, impressed at his new young friend again. “Where did you get your good ideas from?”

Raymond blushed and shrugged. “They just came to me while I was riding here, I guess? When you’re on the road for a long time, your mind just starts wonderin’. And boom! I get what I need.”

“All I need now would be a chance to spend just one more day with Randy. I should’ve called him, messaged him and visited him more often since his retirement. But what’s happened has happened. I can’t go back and change that.”

“Aww, O’Malley. I don’t mean any disrespect, but you shouldn’t have any regrets right now? That’s not what Randy would want from you, ever anymore.”

“Maybe. Maybe that’s what he’d want, but I just can’t picture living the rest of my life without him, see? I can’t go on knowing he died in vain trying to defend his rights. He made me the potential guardian of you and your siblings if the authorities are to come after your parents, but I just see no point in going on without him.” O’Malley started crying again. “That’s why I tried to… I tried to… you know, just now……”

He broke down. Raymond moved his chair next to him and put a comforting arm around him. He gently petted the elderly Native’s back.

“O’Malley, I may not know you well, either, but I want to keep you safe. And I know how hard it is to lose someone so dear to you for a long time.”

“You’ve lost someone, too?”

“Yeah. Kind of,” Raymond answered as-a-matter-of-factly. “But that’s a long time ago. But that’s also when I started picturing how scary it seemed to grow old and die alone.”

“Pfft. If you think dying alone is the scariest thing, try LIVING alone, boy. That’s what I have to do for the rest of my life now.”

“You’ve still got me and the remaining members of my family, O’Malley. Please don’t forget that.”

“Raymond, can ask you a favour?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I really like your plans and all that. The multi-purpose museum is a great idea. I’m willing to go through with it. But to get the project started we have to inform the authorities everything, including the part about your parents. Can we please NOT become enemies if they decide to put them behind bars? I don’t have the power to decide what they’re gonna do after all.”

“O’Malley, you have my word. My grandfather, siblings and I won’t hold anything against you, long as you promise to be the best guardian we can possible have…. will ya?”

The “chief” laughed. “Sure, my sweet young laddie.” He extended a hand to Raymond. “Friends?”

“... and business partners.” Raymond accepted his handshake.

“You can help at the museum as a general assistant or an organiser, Raymond. I can run and manage most of it, being boss of this club.”

“Well, I’m not old enough to get a full-time job yet, but I’ll do my best. Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. O’Malley.” The teenaged boy smiled and got up from his chair, preparing to leave for home.

“Pleasure getting to know you, too, laddie. Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Just call me ‘chief’, k?”