Page 3 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
“Nonsense. Your family is exactly where they are meant to be, and they’re just fine. It’s you who needs a reason to live, to be there for those who must depend on you now. Trust me.”
“Trust you. Right, because you’re my angel. Sure.” Suddenly, strong emotions struck Noel. Interest flared and words broke loose he had no idea he was going to say. “So where do you suppose I’ll find this magical path where folks will be blessed by my involvement?”
Clarence looked upward and nodded. Then he spoke, “Yes, yes, I’m coming.”
Shivers of apprehension flooded Noel’s body. Before he could form a sentence, Clarence cut him off, “They’re calling me back, Noel. Sadly, this is one of our busiest seasons. But I’ll be watching over you, son. You’ll find your way. All you need to do is seek and you will find… just keep your eyes open.”
Then right in front of his eyes, Clarence patted his cheek, smiled gently and disappeared.
Sometime later, a police officer knocked at his car window and woke Noel. He slid down the pane, his mind still not operating quite right.
“Hey, mister, are you alright? You’ve been parked here for some time.”
Noel raised his eyebrow questioningly as if to say – how would you know?
The officer grinned and replied, “Your car has six inches of snow on it and your motor is running. Don’t want to run out of gas on a night with a blizzard like this.” The cop’s eyes narrowed and his tone changed from friendly to anxious. “Hey, how come your clothes look like you went for a swim in the river?”
Chapter Three
After calming the officer with a made-up tale of rescuing a pooch from the water and falling in while doing so, Noel drove away and parked behind a boarded up building. There he went to the trunk and found his gym bag where he kept his exercise clothes. Back inside, he stripped and donned the black pants, white T-shirt and gray hoodie. With dry socks and sneakers, warmth finally penetrated.
Not able to face the drive back to his place, he drove around. As soon as he relaxed, he began to remember his earlier meeting with Clarence and couldn’t decide if he had been a dream or reality. He looked over and saw the wet imprint of a body on his leather passenger seat. The cop had commented on his wet clothes - no getting around the fact that he’d been in the river.
Not able to wrap his mind around the supernatural event, he pulled his car over on a downtown street in Bedford Falls. He’d never visited the area before, though his father’s company had a warehouse distribution center there. Remembering his dad’scomments about the old-fashioned town reminding him of the past, he began to walk through the drifts of falling snow.
He saw some of the buildings were boarded up, but the rest were still trying to show the spirit of the season with their multitude of lights and decorations hanging from lampposts and even strung across the snow-covered street. It would have been a magical experience if the pain in his heart didn’t remind him of how lost he felt.
Grabbing the best tasting hamburger he’d ever had at a local joint called Maddy’s where the middle-aged owner herself served him, spoiling him with more coffee than he could drink, she regaled him with stories of local happenings.
Red curls bouncing and twinkling gray eyes filled with goodness, she questioned him, “Do you want another hamburger, more coffee? How about some homemade lemon pie?”
Shielding his stomach in a protective manner, Noel admitted, “That was the best food I’ve tasted in a long time, Ma’am, but I’m stuffed.” When her expression saddened, he added, “If you cut me just a sliver of that lemon pie, it will fill me to the brim.”
“Glad to, son. Now, where was I? Right. With the Bradford Company closing, people have lost hope in their future. It was the last large employer to keep the economy flourishing. Without that influx of capital, law enforcement has been crippled. They had to cut their numbers and local gangs are getting worse. Some of the other small business owners on the street were saying they’ve been hit up for protection money. Go figure. These bums want us to pay for protection from them. What’s the world coming to?”
Interested in spite of his misery, Noel asked, “What about the police?”
“They can’t do anything unless a crime has been committed. That’s what some of the owners have been told. Makes no sense.If we wait to call them until we get beaten for not paying, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the police being here to defend us? My son, Rory, he’s not going to stand for it. He works the day shift, and he’s already warned me that if they come here, he’ll fight rather than pay. Scares the dickens outta me.”
“No doubt. You know there’re laws protecting people against being threatened with physical harm.”
“Are you a lawyer?”
“Yes. Not a criminal lawyer, but in this case, I know the statutes.”
“Do you live around here?”
“Nope. In the city.”
“That’s too bad. I have a young friend who works in the shelter down the way, and she’s facing this type of harassment all the time.”
“A shelter? I imagine there are a lot of folks in trouble at this time of year.”
“This is a new place she opened this summer. It’s strictly for young people, teens mostly. The place has a strange name that resonates with the kids who come through her doors. It’s called In Need of Help.”
Chapter Four
In Need of Help? The name resonated with Noel to the point that he said a fond farewell to Maddy, promising to return, and headed in the direction she’d pointed. In need of help had been the term that Clarence had stipulated when telling him there were people suffering who his money would benefit.
