I was Only Trying to Help

I had a long career in import/export. I traveled literally around the world on Pan Am flights 1, which circumnavigated the globe going East, and flight 2, which went around going West. Before all these useless membership points, one could become a valued flier with a major airline. I found that when purchasing a first-class ticket on either PA#1 or PA#2, every third flight was free, also in first class. It worked out to be less expensive than three coach tickets.

I had made that trip close to a hundred times. As you can imagine, I was looking forward to staying close to home and relaxing.

Unfortunately, that’s not what my wife wanted. She wanted to travel. The closest I wanted to get to traveling was an RV. I know it seems crazy, but after 40 years, our marriage ended over what to do in our remaining years. I guess we could have stayed married with her traveling and me taking care of the house, but that’s not what she wanted.

“Either we go together as a married couple, or I go as a happy single, ready to mingle.”

She never came right out and said it, but I think she simply felt it was her turn to kick up her heels and see the world. I tried to explain, again and again, that all I ever saw of the world were airplanes, airports, taxis, offices, and factories. I guess it all sounded so glamorous, and it would have been if you could do it without working eighteen hours a day for three weeks at a time, and then doing it all again after a few weeks at home.

The kids heard her say it enough times, so I guess they bought into the idea that I was “galavanting all over the place” instead of working my ass off. I understood their position; they missed me while I was away doing the only thing I was ever good at; talking to strangers. I don’t know how or why, but it didn’t matter what country I was in; I could always find a way to make the deal.

I sat Michael and Isabell down and tried to explain; I thought they would understand. I didn’t do it for fun; to me, it was a job. My son thought it was all bullshit, said I needed to “do whatever it takes” if you can believe it.

“Sorry, you feel that way champ, what about you, Pumpkin?”

“I know it was work, dad, but mom had to stay home while you went to all those exotic places….”

“There’s nothing exotic about being in Taiwan when Carter severed diplomatic relations or in Punjab when a Sikh killed Indira. Then there’s Delhi during monsoon season, which was fun. Do you know I was stranded three times by hurricanes while doing airport projects in the Caribbean? I was in Moscow when their currency collapsed. China looked like a scene from a 40’s black and white film the first time I went there. The shit I went through to make a good living for all of us goes on and on, surely you understand Pumpkin.”

“It sounds pretty exciting to me.”

I couldn’t believe it.

The divorce was quick and finalized in mid-November.

I gave her everything.

She was heading to St. Martin; I tried to talk to her;

“It’s a bad idea this time of year, wait until next month, or better yet, you have the money and time, go to Hong Kong, or Australia, it’s their spring, and the weather is great in Melbourne.”

“You’re just jealous that I’m the one getting to travel now.”

She left in a huff without saying goodbye,

I laughed to myself, “Why would you listen to the guy who’s traveled for forty years.”

I finished packing.

A couple of days later, I locked the door and dropped the key in the mail slot. I climber in and left in my new home, a used C Class RV.

Funny, well, I guess not so funny, but it was just about the same time Hurricane Lenny hit St. Martin right between the eyes. It destroyed hotels, power lines, and water mains. The whole island had to get by without water or power for five days; as I said, why listen to the guy who’s traveled for forty years.

*****

I had it all figured out, my social security and VA disability would be more than enough to cover my monthly expenses if I was careful. I couldn’t afford to pay for an RV site, so with the help of a great app, I was using my GPS and headed for BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and National Forest property. I was also hoping for work as a campsite host, basically just taking my time and watching my budget.

At first, I wasn’t sure what I’d do or where to start. I knew I needed at least some direction, even if it wasn’t carved in stone. I had always wanted to see Yosemite, so I went there first. It was lovely, just as amazing, and as wild as I had imagined it would be. It was so peaceful there, it gave me a great idea; I would visit all the National Forests and Parks in the lower 48.

So, after seeing the parks in northern California; I continued that way. My budget allowed for only $600 a month in gas, which meant I would only be averaging around 800 miles a week when on the road. That would make it a pretty leisurely trip, which was perfectly fine with me.

Maybe two months into my retirement, I left the North Cascades National Park heading east toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. While a little out of the way, it made sense to swing north a bit more, into Montana, and make a stop at Glacier National Park. It was sort of on the way. I was on state highway 2 just outside the small town of West Glacier. Just before Route 2 turns south, I saw a barely visible dirt road that seemed to head off toward Lake McDonald, so I took it. After maybe 20 minutes, I found myself in a lovely clearing overlooking the lake; it would be a great place to spend a few days, maybe even a few weeks.

I settled in, opening the awning and dropping the mesh screen, setting out a couple of chairs (I always like my camp to look welcoming, but it’s also a good idea not to look like you’re alone). I prefer to cook on a fire, but when I’m someplace where the open fire law isn’t clear or known, I use the gas stove in the camper.

Cooler stocked, check;

Bug screen up, check;

Lanterns ready, check;

Relax, now.

After an early dinner, I was looking out at the view from my little screened enclosure, when up above my line of sight, I saw a flash of what I thought was lightning, and then a fireball erupting over the lake. I had no idea what I planned to do, but when I saw the flaming plane, or helicopter, streak across the sky heading toward the near end of the lake, I started running in that direction.

I reached the crash site only a couple of minutes after the ‘crash landing.’ The plane didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before, but there was a partially open door with an unconscious girl just inside. The ground and trees nearby were burning, and I knew I had only a few seconds, so I ran to her, figured out the safety harness, and lifted her into my arms. When I turned around, I saw the fire had advanced, we were surrounded by flames. It was time to go. I wrapped the girl tightly in my arms and covered her face with one hand, and ran through the fire straight toward the lake.

As I ran, there was an explosion that threw me forward, hard. I stumbled but managed to stay on my feet and kept running. I could feel the fire on my back, legs, and head, but kept running. There was a sharp pain that seemed to go right through me. I kept running. I tried to pat the girl’s jacket when I saw flames on the fur and kept running. It took me less than 1 minute to reach the lake, but I knew it would be my last; I plunged into the water, I could feel the cold water on my chest when I let the girl go, and then I felt nothing, nothing at all, the pain was gone, and it seemed like I was in a tunnel with the light closing in around me, then nothing.

****

“But he saved my life.”

“It doesn’t matter; he has to go back.”

“Father!!… Mother!, help me!”

I could hear the voices, but it was like being in a fog; I couldn’t tell where they were coming from. Was I alive? Was I in a hospital?

“Father?” It was another voice, older.

“No, he’s lost too much blood to live anyway.”

“Father?”

“What is it?”

“The doctor says that if we put him back, he will surely die, but with the procedure and a transfusion, he may live. Isn’t a small chance better than none?”

“And then what? What do you think we should do with one of these creatures then?”

“Father, he’s nothing like the rest of them, he didn’t even hesitate, this one ran into the fire and carried me to the safety of the water, he saved my life. Shouldn’t we, at least, try to save his?”

I didn’t understand what the conversation was about, but I heard “blood” and “transfusion” and thought the girl must need blood; she must need blood. I tried to say, “I’m O negative, and dying. If the girl needs it, she can have all of my blood….”

I became aware again; I still didn’t know where I was or why I was still alive.

“He’s doing better, surprisingly good.”

“He looks much better.”

I could tell it was the young one; I was so happy to hear that she seemed to have recovered.

I stirred; I wasn’t dreaming; I was awake, truly awake. I opened my eyes.

“Well, good morning.”

It was the voice, the older girl.

“The doctor said you had healed enough for him to let you wake up.”

“I….”

“Don’t try to speak. Let’s get you something to drink.”

I could see her and hear her, but her lips weren’t moving. Strangely, I didn’t think anything of it.

But then she answered anyway,

“Oh, it’s easy, we don’t speak your language, but we can communicate with you by thought.”

“Wait, you can hear my thoughts?”

“..and you can hear ours.”

She came over and gave me a glass of cool water. It felt so good in my mouth and on my throat. It was hard to swallow but felt amazing. I thought I needed more and was given all I wanted, and some easy-to-eat food, very much like baby food from a pouch, but strangely delicious.

“Where am I?”

“This is our medical facility.”

“In West Glacier?”

“No, no, we thought it best to get you to a place with much better medical capabilities.”

It was clear she wasn’t telling me the whole story, but it was more of a feeling than something I knew. Just as I was going to ask more, the door flew open, and the younger girl ran in and jumped up onto the edge of the bed.

“I heard you were up; how are you feeling?”

“Much better, surprised that we can ‘speak’ this way, have my dreams been bothersome?”

“Oh no, we don’t listen to dreams, only thoughts directed to us.”

“I guess that’s a good thing; what’s your name?”

“I’m Leila; that’s my much older sister, Ella.”

“Hello, I’m Wesley, Wes, Wes Phillips”

I held out my hand, and she took it in hers. It was more like holding hands than shaking. It was nice. It felt like we had been good friends for a long time.

“You’ll be able to get up soon, and I’ll show you around. Bye.”

She left as quickly as she came, after giving my hand a quick squeeze.

“She thinks you’re amazing.”

“Me?”

“You ran through fire for her; you saved her life.”

“…and she saved mine.”

“Hmm, what, why do you say that?”

“I heard your father; he isn’t a big fan, and thank you for your help too.”

“He’s the Captain and overly protective. Our encounters with others like you have never gone well.”

I thought for a minute and said;

“I’m sorry, for some reason, people from out of town always seem to meet the assholes; trust me, there are a lot more people like me in American, I promise.”

“I was thinking more universally, but I’ll take your word for it.”

I slept, drank, and ate and slowly started moving around. I had a beard, I hate having a beard, so I asked if I could shave.

Ella arranged for someone to come in who gave me a haircut and a shave. It was nice, but I kind of wanted to see how I looked. I was anxious to see how much damage the fire had done.

I didn’t have a good handle on how much time that passed or even the time of the day, but after starting with short trips around my room, I was able to walk around the halls and slowly built up my strength.

It was clear I was on some type of vessel, but I couldn’t hear the engines or find my way to the deck. I did, however, find engineering and spent time learning and helping a little. I think we built a bit of trust as I learned their general maintenance routine. I even stood watch, allowing the team time to get a break now and then.

“This is the vortex drive,” he was pointing at the large cylinder that ran maybe 30 yards down the center of the engine hall.

I asked, “Like a tornado?”

“Yes, only this one is magnetic, positive ions go in one direction, and negative ions go in the other direction. It creates a hole in space, and we are pulled through it as it collapses.”

“Kind of vacuum in a vacuum?”

“Yes and no, it’s more like a tiny black hole, and your job is simple, just relax and listen, get used to the sound; if the sound changes, press this button. I am going to my rest cycle.”

****

One day, as we ate, the Captain sat with us and announced that I was healthy enough to go home. It was apparent the crew had discussed it, as I got a sense of almost unanimous agreement.

“We’re going to be near your home soon and won’t be back this way for a long time. You’ve gotten strong and healthy while you’ve been with us, but it’s time for you to get on with your life, and trip.”

“I don’t want to inconvenience you, just drop me any place, and I’ll head back to my camp from there.”

“Any place, as you say, could be very far, and you wouldn’t be able to make it to your camp.”

“I’m not sure I understand; why do you think I wouldn’t be able to make it. Would I be able to leave from where you camped? I understand that I have overstayed my welcome.”

The Captain held up his hand, “You haven’t overstayed your welcome. We are all delighted to have met you and learn there are humans like you in your world. We will always be grateful, and never forget what you did and sacrificed for our Leila. But while you are stronger than you have ever been, the trip to our home would kill you. So prepare to say your goodbyes; after three sleep cycles, we will drop you off, right where we found you, or where you found us.”

“Okay, I understand; it will be nice to feel the sun on my face again… speaking of face, is there a mirror I could use? While I appreciate the great job Max has been doing, I’d like to shave before I go.”

On the day I was to leave, Leila brought me a mirror and a trimmer. She was sad and left while I set the mirror up at the sink.

It was the first time I had seen myself since the morning of Leila’s crash. I didn’t know what to expect, but I could believe my eyes.

“What the fu… heck.. wow, just wow. But this is impossible. Not a single scar, but wow, I look like, like, I’m 30” I pulled off my shirt and looked at my back, “how is this even possible… I thought, Leila, please come back.”

Ella walked in with her father and Leila right behind.

Ella thought,

“Wes, please sit down” I knew it wasn’t a suggestion.

“Thank you… Wes, you were badly hurt when the fuel cell exploded; so much of your back and legs were badly burnt. A piece of the hull went through your back into your left lung and also damaged your heart, but you kept running until Leila was safely in the water.”

Leila sat down next to me and took my hand in hers.

“By your world’s standards, you died in the water, but Leila wouldn’t let you go, physically, mentally, or emotionally, so we brought you here.”

Ella waved her hand, and I knew she didn’t mean, just to my room.

“The doctors stopped your body from dying; that’s when you heard us talking about what to do with you.”

I looked at her father; he smiled and nodded his apology; there was no need.

“After Leila, who still wouldn’t let go of you, and I tried to convince Father and the doctor that trying to save you was the right thing to do, they knew they needed to heal your wounds and give you blood.”

“I remember that,” turning toward Leila, I said, “I thought you needed my blood; I tried to say, “I have O negative blood and that, “the girl,” I squeezed her hand a little, “could have all she needed.”

The Captain, now speaking as a father, interrupted, “Of course it was at Leila’s insistence, yes, but when you offered the last drops of your blood to save my daughter, the doctor and I knew we had to try.”

The doctor spoke, “Knowing your blood type gave us a direction, but we weren’t sure what would happen to your body with a massive infusion of our blood. It took a long time, but we were able to save you, repair you and get your body to accept a blend of your blood and ours, completely.”

“I can’t believe it; I look so young; how?”

The doctor continued, “The easiest way to explain this is by telling you, we are a race of star travelers. Over billions of years, our race has adapted to space travel. We, and now you, to some extent, age very slowly. By your calendar, even Leila is thousands of your years old….”

Leila squeezed my hand, and I took a breath.

“…so giving you our blood, and using nano-bots and medication, we ‘rebuilt’ you into a hybrid of something between our race and yours. You are still, and will always be, human; we have just turned back your body’s clock a bit and slowed your aging process going forward.”

The doctor continued;

“Human genes have a built-in expiration date; what I mean is your DNA, chromosomes specifically, have a limited number of times they can replicate. When they stop renewing, you grow older. There is, however, one kind of human cell that can replicate without any limitations; your doctors call it carcinoma or cancer. We found that by mixing our blood with yours we could, not only grow more O negative blood, we could create a kind of hybrid DNA with the renewal capabilities of cancer, so your cells can now renew indefinitely. It doesn’t work with all your cells, so you will age, just a lot slower than you used to.”

“Hmm, a second chance to make all the same mistakes.”

Leila said, “No, it was her fault she didn’t see how great you are… ahh, sorry, you kind of told me about your life before….”

She knew it was alright.

“Just so I understand, physically, I look like I’m in my 30’s but I still have all the memories of having lived 70 years?”

The doctor looked at the girls and then their father, “Yes, sort of, you see you’ve lived longer than 70 years if you include your time with us.”

“How old am I then?”

“In your years, about 100.”

“103” Leila had been keeping track.

“But if I look like this at 103, then why can’t I come with you?”

“Sticking with your years, as an example, you’ve been slowly aging since we intervened, maybe one year for every ten, but we age one day over a hundred of your years. Even at our speed capability, you’d die of old age before we reached another galaxy.”

Leila let go of my hand long enough to wipe a tear from her eye; Ella turned away for a moment to wipe her tears too.

I think they were all surprised when I said, “If 30 years have passed, I don’t have anyone to go back to; they’re all old and have forgotten me, I’m sure.”

Leila jumped in, “No, you have grandchildren, and they are still young and love you. Think about what you can do with them and all the fun you’ll have with your great-grandchildren….” She paused to wipe her tears again and then continued,…” Besides, it’s not like we can’t talk whenever we want, you have some of my blood, our connection is permanent and isn’t affected by time or space… Right?” she asked for confirmation from no one in particular.

She looked at her father; he cocked his head in agreement before saying, “Actually you are now related to our family, so we can all stay connected… just don’t spend all your time in your head; we’ll hear from you if you need us.”

I took a deep breath and, for the first time in 33 years, pulled Leila into my arms and hugged her; she buried her face into my chest and finally openly cried. The others left us to say our goodbyes.

Just before sunrise, we were standing on the shore of Lake McDonald. Being in the Glacier National Park and National Forest meant it was pretty much just as it was. One more hug from Leila, a quick one from Ella, and a handshake from the doctor; as I turned to say goodbye to their father, he handed me a reasonably heavy backpack, and they were gone.

I won’t go into what my camp and RV looked like, but you can imagine what 33 years in a forest did to it, enough said.

I assumed the backpack was provisioning, threw it over my shoulder, and started walking toward Highway 2 and where I hoped West Glacier would be.

After an hour, I thought I’d stop for a snack. I opened the backpack and found water, some of that baby food-like stuff, and a couple of bags. The first had what looked to be gold nuggets. The second had uncut raw crystal rocks that I somehow knew were diamonds.

As I sat there looking at them.

“You’re going to need some currency to get started again; we know these things have value on your world.”

“Thank you; this looks like way more than I need.”

“It’s nothing compared to what you gave me.”

“Oh, dad”

I walked into town; it had grown up a bit; I stopped to get my bearings and looked around. It was strange, almost eery; everything was so quiet. Oh, cars were zipping by, but there were none of the everyday street sounds. Then it hit me; they’re all-electric. I looked closer and saw that maybe 60% of the cars were self-driving; I think they used to call them “autonomous.” Sure enough, most of the people were riding in clean, quiet, driverless vehicles. Otherwise, it looked the same, newer, a little more modern, like a town that had grown but kept the charm.

I knew what I was hoping for, and there it was. “We Buy Gold” I put a handful of nuggets (about two pounds) in an outer pouch of my pack and headed that way.

They were delighted to purchase ‘the purest gold’ they had ever seen but wanted to transfer money to my chip. I told them I was traveling without a phone, ‘to take a break from the world’ and was hoping for cash.

The shop owner looked a little surprised and said;

“I heard about folks like you, hold-outs to the old ways. But I’m afraid we went digital when the country did; that was just about ten years ago, there’s no such thing as cash anymore. I’ll bet you don’t even have an embedded identification chip, do you?”

I just stared at him with a blank look.

“Haha, I knew it; I can tell by the look on your face, I just knew it. Don’t you worry, everybody still accepts those old-style ID chip cards.”

“We used to call them bank or debit cards….”

“Oh, I remember those; it’s a broader system now. The embedded chips cover banking, driver’s license, car, and health insurance, vaccinations, full medical history, and criminal record, too if you’ve got one.”

“Wow, I guess I have been off the grid for longer than I thought.”

“A lot of people went off-grid during the ’20s, they figured if they weren’t around people they couldn’t get sick. Then there was all that hubbub about whether or not people should be forced to get vaccinated just to keep their jobs. Boy, those pandemic years nearly caused a civil war. When the Zeta II Variant hit, well, that just about did it. Over the 10 or 11 years of the pandemic, as I recall, just about a third of the global population died. The US did a little better; I think the official number was 28% in the USA if you include 2019 right up until the cure in 2028. All those lives wasted because they thought it was some type of hoax.”

“I got the first two shots, but then I went far off-grid. I didn’t know it had gotten that bad; anyway, how do I get one of those ID chip cards without an up-to-date ID?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that; my brother owns the bank, he’ll just put the money on a gift chip card; they’re accepted just about everywhere. You can even add money to it; if you find more gold, just don’t lose it or give anyone your ID access code.”

We walked over to the bank, his brother was very helpful, I got a gift chip card with just about $100,000 on it. He even helped me get a safety deposit box, I put the gold and diamonds in it for safekeeping.

They laughed when I took out my drivers license,

“Haha, I haven’t seen one of those in 20 years, don’t worry; the gift card will get you by until you get your ID sorted out.”

I was glad they hadn’t taken a closer look. It did make me think that my driver’s license, showing me at being over a hundred, wasn’t going to work. I needed a new indentification.

I read that one could walk around a cemetery and find a grave of someone who died as an infant and use their name to get a birth certificate, new identity, then a government-issued ID. Still, in this time, my new here and now, the actual ultra-cyber age, that wasn’t going to work, especially in a small town.

I had some money, but it wasn’t going to last another 60, let alone 600 years. It took only a few seconds to realize that I needed to go to Las Vegas; one can buy anything in Vegas.

The moment I thought it, three voices asked,

“Do you know the power of your mind?”

“You mean other than ‘chatting’ with my friends a million miles away?”

“Haha, yes, and a lot more; you can influence human thoughts through suggestion, move small objects and, with practice, bend light waves, making something non-reflective makes it momentarily invisible.”

“Invisible?, How does that work?”

“It’s kind of like holding up something to block the wind, only with light, it’s the same as moving a small object, you’ll figure it out.”

“I miss you all.”

There was a moment when there was nothing, and then;

Leila said, “We miss you too.”

I never really liked Las Vegas; the idea that the average person believes they could win when they are surrounded by billion-dollar hotels and resorts is laughable. Gambling is very profitable for the casinos, not so much for the people that waste their life savings trying to get rich, but then again, there are those who, win or lose, just think it’s fun.

My original plan was to buy a new identification, but knowing that I could move small objects, like a tiny roulette ball, even just a little, could indeed even the odds and make someone a high roller pretty quickly.

As to my identification problem, it wasn’t as hard as I imagined. A sizable tip to the doorman found what I was looking for, a shady hacker that was able to get me a new identity, with my own first name and my grandmother’s maiden name. It only cost $25,000. He threw in a valid driver’s license and a digital passport for another $15,000. After that, it was easy to set up an ID chip card (I was not at all interested in an embedded chip) in my name. In the eyes of the digital world, I was now a person again.

When gambling, anywhere, but especially in Vegas, I knew I had to be careful. So after a ‘lucky streak’ that had me winning, a few thousand dollars, I lost a little and then placed a ‘crazy’ ten thousand dollar bet on double zero. With some help from my newfound skills, my total winnings grew to something over $320,000. It looked like dumb luck, but I was a big winner.

I announced;

“That’s it; I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.” I tipped the croupier, and he had security assist me with my chips. I knew what would happen next.

There is no way any casino will let a big winner leave if they can help it. The pit boss and even the hotel manager fell all over themselves finding out how to help me. Would I like a suite, see a show, have a gourmet dinner, a woman? I said thank you, but it was getting cold in the evenings, so I was going to take my winnings and go someplace warm.

They were all smiles: The next thing I knew, I was on a private jet heading to one of their other properties in the Caribbean; that just so happened to have a casino, “In case I felt like some recreation.”

Over the next few months, I flew around the world, staying at five-star hotels and resorts playing roulette and, sometimes, craps. I’d win big and lose a lot, but always came out a little ahead. I had a reputation of being wild and reckless, but someone who was generous and tipped big. They knew when I was up, and when I was down, but I was still well ahead overall.

I thought they’d feel like they had more control, so I agreed to let the casino’s parent corporation hold my winnings in a secure account that used facial recognition for withdrawals. I only drew out enough to gamble or to replenish my ID chip card.

It’s strange; I didn’t need to buy anything. If I said I was going shopping outside the casino, they’d suggest a shop in the hotel or in one of their properties nearby, they paid for everything. They weren’t going to lose control of me if they could avoid it. It worked to my advantage to make them think they had the power.

I had a new super-thin laptop; it took a few lessons to learn how to use it. When I got the hang of the basics, I used it to find my family. I discovered my daughter and son lived in the hill country outside of Austin. They shared a ranch just outside Marble Falls. I sent them a note through social media saying their grandmother was my great grandfather’s sister, and so we were sort of cousins and told them my name. They knew their grandmother’s maiden name, and, of course, it was a match. If we weren’t actual cousins, we were, at least, not-so-distant relatives. I told them I would be in Austin for business in a few weeks and wondered if they wanted to meet for dinner someplace.

It took them a few days to get back to me; I’m guessing they checked me out through one of those family tree websites, but my hacker had done an excellent job creating my history. They invited me to come to their ranch any time.

I didn’t want to sound too anxious, so I suggested again we meet for dinner, and if they felt comfortable, perhaps I could meet the whole family. We made loose; if you’re in the area, kind of plans and agreed to meet at a restaurant on South Congress. I said I would be in Curaçao for a while and would call them when I came to Texas.

Curaçao was what I needed. I swam, snorkeled, and even found a great place to do a scuba shore dive. I sat around the pool and met a fair share of ladies looking for some fun.

It was shopping, winning, dining on the beach all day, and the casino all night. I stuck to my plan, up and down, but always ending the evening a little ahead.

One night I saw a couple having one of those silent arguments, only married couples seem to know how to do. I was between games and ladies, so I listened in. They were going at it because he wouldn’t stop trying to win back all he had lost. She said something about mortgage money and college funds; he kept going on about “feeling a winning streak” or “how his luck was bound to change.”

I walked over and accidentally bumped into him;

“Oh wow, I am so sorry. Are you alright?”

“Yeh, yeh, no big deal.”

“Are you sure? You seem pretty upset?”

“I’m fine; it’s not you. My wife and I were discussing our budget.”

“I understand that; I have to set a limit and stick to it, or you never know what’s going to happen. A spin of the wheel, the ball drops, and the kids don’t go to college.”

The wife spoke,

“That’s the problem; we’re already way past that stage. Honestly, we’re in trouble and don’t know how to get out of it.”

“That’s tough; if you don’t mind me asking, how far in the hole are you?”

They both answered;

He said, “$10,000.”

She said, “$25,000 if you include the loan we took out yesterday.”

“Boy, they sure make it easy, but I may be able to help you.”

She said, “It’s impossible.”

He said, “How?”

“Come over here; let’s grab a table where we can talk.”

We went to the bar and took a table away from everyone. The waitress took our order and left.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think I caught one of the employees cheating the system.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I play roulette; when I’m not playing, I watch roulette, boring for some, but I like it. Over the last few days, I noticed a pattern on the wheel near the craps tables. A lady comes over and makes small wagers, simple odd and even, or red and black stuff; it’s like she’s waiting for something to happen.”

“What do you think she’s waiting for?”

“Well, I noticed that when the ball dropped on 28, before the next spin, she bet big, like a thousand dollars, on zero.”

“What happened?”

“I saw her do it three times, and each time, it landed. She’d then cash out and walk away with $35 grand.”

“But how does that help… oh, I see, we watch for her.”

“Right, we’ll walk around the casino, and when I see her, we’ll make our way over to the table.”

The wife wasn’t happy and said;

“That’s all well and good honey, but we’re down $25,000 and couldn’t come close to making a thousand dollar bet.”

“Well, that’s where I come in. I like to play, win or lose, but I’m limited to the tables where I can play. Even though our mystery woman plays at a high stakes table, I am relegated to the VIP unlimited games.”

“How does that help us?”

“Well, as I said, we watch for her; when we see her, I’ll give you guys a thousand dollars. Then you watch and wait for the ball to land on 28. Then no matter what she does, you bet the thousand on zero.”

He was excited, “We can do that a few times….”

“Hold on, this is a one-time thing; once you win, they’ll change their game plan and maybe even who the players are. The plan is a way to get back what you lost and put a little in the bank, but then you have to walk away. You can’t let them think you’re on to them.”

I planted a thought in his head…

“Oh, right, we can only do this once. By the way, what’s your take?”

“You give me back my thousand, plus a thousand.”

“So we walk away with $34 thousand?”

“Yes, and I’m happy to do it, on one condition… you stop gambling, pay off the loan, enjoy the rest of your stay and go home, winners. Without a promise to stop, I won’t help you.”

The wife immediately said, “Deal,” and shook my hand.

He hesitated, but I planted another thought in his head, and then agreed.

I looked over their shoulder and saw a lady settle into a spot at the table, and said;

“Don’t look now, but she just arrived.”

“You’re kidding. Really?

I nodded.

“You two head over to the table, get a spot, and here take this….”

With a little more than a thousand in their pockets, they saddled up to the roulette table and waited, making small bets on each spin, as agreed.

After ten minutes or so, I helped the ball drop on 28. They got excited, before the next spin, they placed their bet, a thousand on green zero. The ball dropped, and they cheered with excitement and relief.

There was a brief discussion, but with another thought planted, the wife prevailed and then left the table. We met at the payout window, I collected my two thousand.

They thanked me, a hundred times but mentioned that “the lady” hadn’t bet zero.

I suggested that perhaps they got their signals crossed when you guys bet. It didn’t matter, it was behind them, now they could enjoy their vacation.

As I headed back to my room, I heard;

“That was very nice.”

“Hah, it was fun to help them.”

“You will never change, and that’s a good thing.”

I continued playing and enjoying the sun, but after another week of procrastinating, my digital account was now $15 million-plus, so I told management that I needed to see my family, but would be sure to let them know when I wanted to play again. They said they understood, but if truth be told, they hated to see me leaving a winner. I’m sure in their collective minds, they knew that in the long run, the house always wins and wanted to make sure I came back.

Leaving for a break didn’t stop them from scheduling an all-electric Gulf Stream to Austin. They also arranged a very nice rental car for when I arrived. Of course, they mentioned, more than once, how unique Naskila Gaming was and that it was only a half-hour helicopter ride to Livingston, just in case I needed some recreation. I thanked them, and I was on my way.

When I told “the cousins” I was on my way, they were excited and said they were having a family gathering that weekend; they invited to the house.

I have to admit; I had butterflies as I drove through the ranch gate and along the drive. When I pulled up, I took a deep breath and tried to figure out for the millionth time what I was going to say to my children, oops, distant cousins, who were now all over 70.

Then Leila’s said,

“They’re going to love meeting their cousin from Nevada.”

Then Ella chimed in, “I’m sure they will see the family resemblance.”

I was laughing when I rang the bell.

The door opened, and I looked into my daughter’s eyes; while it wasn’t that long in my mind, in the real world, it was the first time in almost 35 years.

I stumbled over my words for a second,

“Hi, you must be Isabell.”

She just stared and then said;

“Holy shit, you look exactly like my father when he was your age.”

“Really, well, I hope that won’t make you uncomfortable.”

“Of course not; come in, come in, we’re all here and excited to meet you. We’ve wanted to get to know your side of the family for a long time.”

“Told you.”

I sent a quick thought to Leila, “I’ll let you know how it goes.” I returned my focus on the here and now.

It’s funny, to me; it felt so natural in a weird way. To the family’s credit, they were very welcoming and treated their new distant cousin like, well, like one of the family.

Seeing my son shrug his shoulders with his hands out, when he was asked a question, reminded me of a time when he was very little, maybe only a year old.

A neighbor had stopped by asking if we had seen her dog.

We were just going out for a walk, so Michael was in his stroller.

When I said, “No, we haven’t”, and wondered out loud, “where could he be?”

Michael looked around, shrugged, and held his hands out.

The neighbor laughed, saying how cute that was, and wondered where he could have picked that up at such a young age, she started to laugh even more when she saw me shrug with my hands out and say, “I have no idea.”

That was sort of how the day went; my children would say or do something that reminded me of when they were little or teens. Even the things they said to their children and grandchildren were things I had said to them.

I caught my daughter watching me now and then, I’d look her way, and she would smile and get back to hosting. At some point after another comparison of how much I reminded them of their father or grandfather, I learned their dad’s RV had been found in a National Forest, maybe 30 or 35 years ago, by Park Rangers who had responded to the report of a fire.

The RV was legally set up and licensed, so they only made a note of it. When the missing person report was filed a few months later, the ranger remembered the RV and scorched ground. After checking, confirmed the RV had been registered to a Mr. Phillips. While the official report continued to say missing, presumed dead; they now believed that Wes Phillips had died in the woods that day, perhaps trying to put out the fire, and was consumed by what was proven to be a fire that burned hotter than normal.

I told them I was sorry for their loss, but they assured me, it was long ago, and while they thought of their dad from time to time, any grieving was well over.

I ended up staying in a bunkhouse. It was very nicely set up as a guest room. My daughter tried to speak to me in private more than once over the next few days, but couldn’t find the words. You see, just as I had seen a familiar gesture in Michael, she couldn’t help but notice the little things I said and did that would, from time to time, remind her of her father.

As I was leaving, she finally built up the courage to say,