Led by the Ring in His Nose

Randy's house was beautiful. On two acres, surrounded by trees and a view of mountains in the distance, his home was just what Neela needed. We got Neela comfortable and warm and she asked that we bring her something to eat when we came back.

Instead Randy ordered food delivered and when it arrived the three of us ate in his dining room. As we ate it began to lightly snow. The view of snow falling in the trees was incredible. Neela sobbed and the whole saga poured out of her. Randy listened and I saw his eyes fill as the story touched him.

When Neela ran down, had said everything she needed to let out, she went back to the guest room and went to bed. Randy and I sat up until two in the morning. We had been brothers born to different parents when we were in college. At about two in the morning he said, "She's wonderful. She's strong, beautiful and it's obvious she loves you. Congratulations. I'm jealous."

We hugged manly hugs and I joined Neela in bed.

Hunger and a need to pee woke me the next morning. When I got up Neela woke and asked if I could go pee for her. I answered that I had the wrong plumbing to be able to do that, so she got up and preceded me into the bathroom. Randy was in the kitchen with a pot of hot, strong coffee, a fire going in the fireplace and music playing softly from the stereo.

"I make great coffee, but I don't cook well. Scrambled eggs and toast is about the upper limit of my kitchen skills."

Neela went to the refrigerator got out eggs, cheese, bell peppers, onions and a few other things. As she began work on breakfast she asked, "If you don't cook why all these ingredients?"

"Three friends came over two nights ago and they cooked, leaving whatever was left."

Neela made a sort of omelet thing that looked strange and tasted like heaven. Randy wolfed it down and asked, "Do you have a sister?"

Neela looked at him and said, "Three of them. All younger than me and single. You looking for a wife, Randy?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I'm feeling like my life isn't full. I used to love living here. I loved waking up and wandering around this house, playing music any time I wanted, doing dishes once a week, laundry when I ran out of socks." He spread his arms. "Look at my house. Clean and organized. I've grown up, some. I could immediately invite any woman into my house. When I got out of bed this morning I straightened the bed! I don't want to live my life alone." He was quiet for almost a minute and said, "I want a life partner. I want her so badly it hurts."

I heard the gears turning in Neela's head. She asked, "Tell me about her. Who does she need to be?"

The thought in my head was, 'Randy, don't screw up buddy.'

"She must be someone going somewhere with her life. Smart, educated and working at creating a balanced life."

"What does that mean, "A balanced life"?" Neela asked.

"She welcomes challenges in her life. She is physically active, skis, rides a bike, hikes, swims... something. She reads and not any one thing but reads about lots of things and wants to talk about a hundred subjects. She can and likes to cook. She's as comfortable in worn jeans as in an evening gown. She's been skinny-dipping and enjoyed it. She has trouble being labeled."

"I know her." Neela said. "In June she'll graduate with a masters in business. She hikes and runs regularly. Studied pre-med for two years before she changed to business."

"Why did she drop pre-med?" Randy asked.

"The way they teach medicine is like a business. She wanted to be a healer. She has friends who are her friends because they are deep into subjects she wants to learn. She invites them for dinner and picks their brains."

"She lives in Chicago and doesn't ever want to leave?" Randy asked.

"She lives in Chicago and is looking hard at the possibility of leaving."

"How can I meet her?" He asked.

"Give me a phone please." Neela said. Randy found a cordless and handed it to Neela. She held onto it and asked, "This can work one of two ways. You can fly to Chicago and spend a few days there meeting her and some of her family. Or, she can fly here and meet you here. If you choose the second option I request she flies out here next week and we stop on our way back to Chicago."

"If you invite her here, will she come?"

"I'm not sure. She's my sister and until the mess in the family looks like it will be solved, I can't guess what she will do with the invitation."

"Call her. Invite her here. You and Ben will be back next week."

Neela started punching buttons on his phone. He asked me, "Does she look like Neela?"

"Not as tall, but every inch a woman people notice, in a good, sexy way."

Neela spoke into the phone, "Sariah, I'm putting you on speaker. I want Ben to hear you. Please describe the man you want to meet and marry."

"Short version or long?"

"Start short." Neela smiled as she said it.

"He must be able to be Ben's best friend and share his values. He can't be the kind of sports nut who knows the batting average of a hundred players and has never been to batting cages. He reads and not just Playboy. He might even have a subscription to Scientific American or the Smithsonian. He dresses like he's comfortable being authentically him, jeans, shorts or tux. He laughs and sings for the joy of both. He might not attend church but he is spiritual and may meditate in a variety of ways. He's taller than me and he's not fat. The first thing I said is the short version. Why did you ask? Did you find him?"

"He and Ben met in college and are best friends. He's right here and I can see a copy of Scientific American on his coffee table. He wants to meet you. He said and I quote, "I want a life partner. I want her so badly it hurts."

"Can I borrow your car and some gas money?" Sariah asked.

"No." I said. Call O'Hare and get a flight to Phoenix. Monday or Tuesday will be fine. However, don't call until you consider the impact of losing another daughter will have on your family and on you. Could you move to Phoenix and be eighteen hundred miles from your Dad, brothers and sisters? You won't lose us, Neela and I are family to you forever and wherever you are."

Sariah asked, "Can I call you later tonight?"

"Yes." I said. I gave her our cell number. She said, "Really, he fits?"

Randy and I looked at Neela and she said, "Near as I can tell they are brothers."

Sariah said, "Ben, I love you and thanks." She ended the call. Neela hit the button on the phone she was holding and said, "That's what I needed. A little good news, a little possibility."

We loaded into Randy's truck and he drove us around Phoenix. He pointed out places he liked and places where he'd share with Sariah. He asked lots of questions about Sariah, the family and about how their lives might mesh. I watched and listened to Neela.

She was happy again, looking forward and full engaged. We stopped by Wal-Mart and moved the truck then went back to Randy's home. As we pulled into the driveway Neela pointed to the garage and said, "Do you ever put the truck inside?"

Randy smiled and said, "The garage is full. I'd love to show you." He parked the truck and as we got out he hit the opener and the garage door opened. Sitting in the center of a remarkably clean and organized garage sat a 1934 Ford Victoria sedan. Four panels of lights came on as the door rolled up. The car was painted bright yellow and sported wide tires on the rear and mag rims all round. It was ready for the cover of Hot Rod magazine.

Neela asked, "All show and no go or is she fast?"

Randy puffed up a little and said, "When I bought her the engine was original and the block was cracked. Now there's a 425-inch Dodge Hemi under the hood that produces 425 horses. I mated the engine to a B&M stick hydro and a strong rear end."

We spent some time admiring the '34. We sat in it and randy fired up the monster engine. He told Neela he bought the car after I bought the '55 Vette for my Dad. Something magical about the classic cars, he said.

We were back inside the house when the phone rang. Randy answered and talked for quite a while before he walked the phone to Neela and said, "It's Sariah."

Neela took the phone and wandered into the living room, sat on the big leather couch in front of the fire randy built for her and they talked. Randy and I went back out to the garage. We talked about the sisters and the problem with their Momma.

We closed the garage and went back inside after quite a while. We added wood to the fire and sat on either side of Neela. I could see that tears had fallen. I got a kiss and she turned and gave Randy one as well. She gave him the kiss and said, "It's from Sariah. Her plane lands Tuesday at three in the afternoon."

Neela listened a few seconds and asked, "How will she recognize you?"

Randy said, "I'll be the one driving a bright yellow '34 Ford! I'll wear a bright yellow shirt and..."

Neela burst out laughing! "She's got the picture! You'll know her by the navy Pea-coat and matching slacks she'll be wearing and the fact that she'll be shaking in apprehension and anticipation."

The call ended and Neela shared with us. Sariah had discussed possibilities with her sisters and with Daddy. She had not talked to her brothers. The situation with Momma had not resolved, or even changed much. Daddy had sent Momma a registered letter letting her know that as of March first he was not making mortgage payments on the house, that he had accepted an offer to sell his business and he was stopping all the family credit cards and her access to their saving accounts. The letter also informed her he was filing for divorce.

Momma had called Daddy at work and screamed at him that if he filed for divorce he would be wasting his money because she would kill herself before she would be humiliated by being divorced. Daddy hung up on her.

Sariah had bought her ticket for Phoenix and was excited to meet Randy. Neela was excited for her sister. She said to Randy and me, "She sees the possibilities in partnership that don't exist in the old ways."

Randy said, "But, no pressure, right?"

I said, "You want pressure? Her brothers don't even know you exist, but they hate you. They were willing to kick the crap out of me on New Years Eve for rejecting a ring in my nose! They want to be led around by the nose!"

"I'm eighteen hundred miles from Chicago. Damn! I hope she's worth the risk."

"Neela is. Sariah is, too." I said.

We retired for the night and at dawn Randy dropped us at the truck. At three that afternoon I backed the truck down the incline to the loading dock and a crew of dock apes unloaded us. By four the truck was empty, the paperwork done and the U.S. Navy was happy. We left the truck parked at the dock and picked up a rental car for a day. Neela had never seen the Pacific Ocean before so we drove to Point Loma and watched the busy port of San Diego and the miles and miles of ocean. We ate in Old town San Diego and loved the great Mexican food we tasted. That evening Neela talked for an hour with Sariah. I listened.

The short version was that Sariah called her mother and told her she was going away for a few days to meet a man. A man she intended to marry. No, he wasn't from the old country. Sariah told her mother that she was about to lose the things she had always said were the most important things in her life. Her home would be sold, her marriage would end, and her children would scatter and live lives without her constant attention. She had told her mother that Neela wasn't to blame. The twenty-first century was to blame. Her Momma began to scream at her and about Neela and Sariah just hung up the phone.

We were in San Diego on Monday evening. The truck would be loaded and ready for us to leave NLT 0600 on Tuesday. I learned that NLT means No Later Than and 0600 means six o'clock in the morning. We would be parked at Wal-Mart in Phoenix by three in the afternoon. NLT 1500. The same time that Randy would pick up Sariah at the airport.

That was the plan. Plans don't always work. Somewhere around midnight Monday evening the load destined for the Reserve Training Center in Chicago was being loaded and the forklift operator got distracted, running both forks through the side of our trailer. The load was unloaded and the trailer would be repaired in less than a day. We could leave San Diego NLT 1800 hours, six o'clock Tuesday evening!

That would get us into Phoenix at two in the morning. Neela wasn't panicked. She called Randy and told him what happened and that we'd park at Wal-Mart and sleep in the truck until he and Sariah came to pick us up. We spent about half the day in San Diego shopping and being tourists. Then we went to the truck and I slept until we were loaded, locked up, fueled up and ready to go. I pulled away from the dock at 1745 hours. Fifteen minutes early.

While I slept Neela got food for our dinner and snacks loaded in the truck. While we drove to Phoenix we didn't stop for food or beverages. We did stop once at a rest stop to take care of biological necessities without smelling up the inside of the truck. Neela had learned a lot about what snacks and foods I liked.

At 0300 on Wednesday morning Neela and I undressed and went to bed, parked in Wal-Mart's lot. I was affectionate with Neela and she gave as good as she got. After her first orgasm we joined and kissed. I pulled my face back just enough that our lips weren't touching any more and I asked, "Think Sariah is in bed with Randy right now?"

"No! She's going to take this slowly. Sariah isn't impulsive like that. We didn't just jump into bed either, if you remember."

"As I remember it you tackled me, threw me to the floor and made me surrender. Randy may not stand a chance. She'll love it here. Lots of sand, desert and heat!"

"You think she can like it here?"

"You seem to like living in a truck. I think I could live anywhere you were. Maybe that's how Sariah will be. Maybe they will click, too."

"That thing you have sticking in me? Could you move it around some? I'd like it if you'd fill me up."

After, we cleaned up, opened the doors long enough to get the smells of sex out of the truck and Neela dressed in a t-shirt of mine and a pair of panties. I covered us and we slept. Wal-Mart was open and there were quite a few cars in the lot when someone banged on the side of the sleeper.

Randy's voice called out, "Big brother, wake up! Time for brunch!" We both laughed and got up. We dressed quickly and exited the sleeper. Randy stood by our truck with Sariah hanging on his arm. One look and I knew she was gone on him. One look at randy and he was oh, so proud.

Neela took one look and said, "Oh my God! Sariah, you went to bed with him!"

Sariah blushed and said, "The second time!" The four of us laughed. We got into Randy's truck and headed for his home. The day was spent building the beginnings of their relationship, solidifying our brotherhood and laughing. The sisters borrowed the truck and went to a nearby market, came back and started cooking. Randy all but dragged me to the garage.

"She's the one!" He said. "I'm going to marry her. She's going to live here, in this house, with me!"

They found us polishing the outside of the '34 Ford. Sariah hooked Randy's arm and asked, "If I get some wonderful lotion, think you might spread it on me?"

"Don't get a little jar!" He said. Neela grabbed my arm and they led is willingly back into the house and dinner. Randy asked, "When do you need to leave?"

"It's Wednesday evening. We can stay all day tomorrow and tomorrow night, then we need to go. So, early Friday morning we need to be on the road."

My cell phone rang. I looked and it was my home number. I answered, "Ben."

It was Neela's daddy. He said, "Whatever Sariah said did the trick! The girls and I are invited home. We're moving back in the morning, unless it snows. The boys are upset but they will move back day after tomorrow. Can I speak to Neela or Sariah please?"

I put the call on speaker and said, "They're right here and you're on speaker."

Randy and I stayed quiet and listened. When the family news from Chicago was finished Sariah asked if he wanted the news from Arizona. Of course he said yes.

"Neela and I are going to plan a wedding! This morning Randy asked me to marry him and I said yes!"

The call lost all semblance of sanity at that point. The other sisters jabbered in a strange language that Neela and Sariah responded to with equal jabbering and eventually the call ended.

I picked up the warm cell phone and called the airline Sariah had flown to Phoenix on. I found out I could sell back the return trip part of her ticket. I hung up.

I found the sisters in the kitchen and said, "I think Sariah should ride with us back to Chicago. You can do lots of planning as we drive and she'll see how we live."

They squealed like seventh grade girls at their first concert and Randy interrupted by grabbing Sariah's hand and heading out of the kitchen. Sariah asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the bedroom! Time's a wastin!" They didn't stop. I heard the door to Randy's bedroom close and I heard Sariah laughing. I looked at Neela and she was smiling. Her eyes were full of tears and I couldn't resist kissing her.

"You started all this!" She said between kisses.

Epilogue... Sariah's wedding happened and Momma sat in the front row. Her Daddy sold the business and they bought a motor home to travel around visiting family. My Mom made an announcement a year and a month after Dad died. She was getting married to a man she met one morning at La Mex her favorite Mexican restaurant. He drove in and parked next to her in a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air two-door sport sedan. He invited her to go for a ride. Sariah's sisters visited Phoenix and both met good men. They got jobs and moved to Arizona. The four boys are still pissed at their parents and they hate Randy and me. Not one of them came to Sariah's wedding. Well, that's not true. They came, but stayed out in the parking lot and egged about twenty-four cars. Neela and I have been offered a nice sized price for the property in Downer's Grove. When Mom get's married, we'll sell and maybe buy a place in or near Phoenix. I think I'd like Flagstaff better. You never know. Things change.

Momma did.

[As always your comments are welcomed unless you want to attack me personally. I have ex-wives and other relatives to tell me what a perverse, ignorant asshole I am. Please don't waste time repeating their beliefs. If you comments will possibly assist in me becoming a better writer, please, leave a comment.]