Page 17 of Harman

“He always had a bag of some kind of treat, too. Sometimes, it would be a bit of rock candy that he’d made or a book with a couple of pages in it. It was terrible, just a few words, but Harman had made it him himself, and that was fun, too. One time, he had cotton candy. A treat that I’d never tasted before then.” Charlie nodded, his memories of the things coming to him faster now. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to interrupt your story.”

“You didn’t. You helped me remember some things. He made the cotton candy machine, too. And the way he would have it made over those hot flames would entertain us for days after he left us.” Dad laughed then. “Never did he come into town empty-handed either. Even if it was just a few coins, pennies mostly that he’d hand out to the kids.”

Smiling, he continued. He knew that it was a sad smile. He felt his hurt for the man all the way to his toes. Nodding, he continued talking about the man. A man that had become his friend the day he’d been killed.

“One day, he comes riding into town and has himself a string of ponies behind him. About twenty or so, all of them walking behind him like he was piped Piper. They were attached to each other. Nope, they were just following him into town like he was their leader. He found me coming out of the store and asked me if I needed some ponies. He told me that they would need to be around us a lot so they’d get used to our smell.” Tony asked his dad if the town had known that they were wolves. “No. And I, to this day, don’t know how he figured it out. Just asked me right out if I wanted any. So shocked was I that I nodded my head before I could think on it too long.”

Charlie shifted on his seat whenever he thought about the next part. “He was a good man. Upstanding. I thought for a long time that he might well have killed his wife off. I still have thoughts like that, but not as often as I did back then. But Wayne, he was walking away from me, and he told the ponies, the first one, that they belonged to me from now on. And wouldn’t you know it? They stayed right there with me like I was their new master or something.”

“What happened, Dad?” He looked at the man’s namesake and had to dust away a few tears then. “Dad, you don’t have to finish it if it’s going to upset you. We can move on.”

“No, no. I want to tell you.” Charlie cleared his throat before beginning again. “I had Edwin start to take the horses to the barn. But he was stopped by a group of men who thought they should have the ponies more than I did. I really would have given them to them had they only asked, but they didn’t. Jumping on them and trying to get them to go home with them. Nary a one of them moved but looked at me, frightened and all.”

A pony died that day. The man that had been seated on him had beat him to death because he wouldn’t move. Another one had to be put down. He, too, had been beaten up so badly that there wasn’t any coming back from it. He didn’t tell the boys that. It hurt him to know the cruelty of some people.

“Wayne, hearing the ruckus, came back to see what was going on. One of the men in the crowd asked Wayne how he’d come to have such fine ponies. And then he asked him if he was some kind of wizard or something. He didn’t know what that was and looked to me for help. So I told them that they’d have to explain what they were talking about as Wayne didn’t know. The man who had asked didn’t wait for an answer but picked up the closest thing to him and bashed Wayne over the head with a piece of firewood. Well, now, I told you he was a big man. Had a thick head, too, and all that log did was splinter in a few places and didn’t seem to faze the big man. He was polite, even though there was a bit of blood going down his face that the man not hit him anymore. It hurt his head. Then he looked at me.”

Charlie blew his nose hard. The tears were coming faster now, and he just didn’t care. He’d told his sons all their lives that it was all right to show emotions when they got the better of you. And that’s what was happening right now. His memories and thoughts were getting the better of him. Putting his handkerchief away, he began telling of that day again.

“Wayne picked up Edwin and Tony, set them right on those barebacked ponies, and sent them to the house. That’s all he said to them, to the house. Once they were out of the way, the boys, not the ponies, all the men there turned on Wayne. I got myself beside him and pulled out my gun.”

“You have to remember that not many people had guns back then. Nary a rifle, either. They made do with what they had, and a gun purchase would have cost them more money than they could use to eat on for the year. So I pointed my gun at the group of angry men and told them to back off. Then I made sure that they knew that I’d be working with them on the sale of the ponies if they still wanted one.” Charlie looked beyond his sons and saw the street that day that it happened. “Mr. Hartman, he was the meanest man alive. I thought he said that he wanted Wayne to go and get him some fresh horses. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but it wasn’t the answer that he wanted. It was more than anyone had that day. Like I said, he was a mean person.”

“You gave the ponies to Mr. Griffin. Why didn’t you hand them over to me? I have me a nice ranch out there, and I would have given you top dollar for them. A man run down like you are, I’m betting that you could use some cash in your pocket about now.” Wayne told him that he really didn’t need the money that the earth provided him with everything that he needed. “Oh, so you’re rich, are you. Tell me how much money you got on you, and I’ll double it if you take me to get them ponies I’m wanting.”

“I don’t have any use for money, not much to speak of really, but the land and the earth, they provide me with all the things that I need. Apple trees. There was a peach tree out there, too, but I missed them growing. I put me a few vegetables in the ground early spring, and that’s been—”

“I don’t give a good damn about your gardening. I want you to show me how you got them ponies, and then you’re going to go out with me and get me some more.” Wayne had tried to explain that he’d not had anything to do with them coming to him. Most animals liked him. “So I’m guessing that a hare or something will bounce his way up on your table all cooked and everything when you’re hungry.”

“Now you’re just being silly.” The anger that had come over his face still scared him to this day. “How would it know how to cook himself?”

The knife came out of nowhere. It was still dangling from Wayne’s chest when he reached out for Mr. Hartman’s horse and took it to the ground. When it was obvious that Mr. Hartman was going to shoot him this time, Wayne reached down and snapped, just like it was no more than a bit of sticks, off his arm and threw it away.

“The townspeople just went mad after that. They ganged up on Wayne and beat him to death. Even after he was dead, they still kept up at it until it was difficult to tell that the mess on the street was a man.” Charlie looked at Harman. “The clouds came out of nowhere and were just bursting with water; they filled the streets with water. As we all stayed there, still in shock at what had happened. The body of Wayne Harman was fading into the ground. Like he’d was being a part of the earth that he had loved all his life.”

“What was he?” Harman asked Charlie again what the man had been. “Was he a faerie or something? For the earth to have taken him back, he had to be something special to someone.”

“He was special to everyone he helped. And he did help a lot of people when he could.” Charlie thought of something else while thinking about the man. “You’re named after a great man, Harman, and if he were here now, he’d be proud to know that you’ve carried on his works with all that you do.”

Charlie wanted to change the subject and was thinking that he wanted to let his sons know how incredibly proud he was of them. But before he could get the words out, the six of them said that they loved him very much and that they were proud to have him as not just their father but a great role model, too. His heart was full at that moment, and he was sure that he’d think about this night for the rest of his days. He still shed a tear or two of happiness that he’d been a part of raising such wonderful children.

Getting home a great deal later than he meant to, Charlie sat on the deck and watched the trees. Closing his eyes when a small spark appeared, he waited for the mother earth to join him. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see her then.

“You’ve been telling the story of Wayne again, haven’t you, my dear friend? I bet you left out, as you usually do, that you were hurt too when the mob came after him.” He said that it wasn’t part of the story in talking about how Harman had gotten his name. “Perhaps not, but it showed me, once again, that a better man couldn’t have been chosen to help the earth. Thank you for that.”

“’Tis my pleasure, my lady. Forever.” When she sat down, there was tea and cookies for the two of them. “I shouldn’t indulge. I have a big day tomorrow and I’ll be too full to enjoy the breakfast meeting that I’m attending.”

He sipped his tea first and then took a couple of cookies. Charlie knew that they’d be his favorite and wasn’t disappointed when he bit down on the first one. As they enjoyed their tea and cookies, not a word was said about anything so earth-shattering but the warm weather that they were enjoying.

After she told him of the things that she had in her life, he told her that they’d help her in any way that they could. Grace told him that she’d take him up on that and get back with him. Charlie made his way to his wife and bed just as the sun was cresting over the trees. He didn’t need much sleep but knew that he was going to be extremely tired for the rest of the long day. But he couldn’t have been a happier man than he was when Luna wrapped her warmer body around his and kissed him. Charlie thought again how lucky he really was.

Chapter 8

Harman walked down the hall toward the room he had been requested to go to. Ms. Donahue had asked if he could come to see her, and he told her that it would be his pleasure. As he was backing out of the room, finding her sleeping in her bed, she turned and looked at him with a huge smile.

“I’m having a better day today. Come, come in. I would like to talk to you a spell.” He came into the room and sat down in the room’s only chair to do what she requested. “My granddaughters have been in to see me. I remember them sometimes only as they’re leaving. It hurts my soul when I remember bits and pieces of the things that I said to them. Will you tell them I’m very sorry?”

“I can do that. Is that what you wanted to see me about? I don’t mind coming to see you, Ms. Donahue. If you need me, have one of the nursing staff call me at home.” She nodded, but Harman wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing. “Can I make things better for you in here? Anything you want so long as it’s approved by the staff to—”

---