Amber took the opportunity of the break in conversation to lean forward in her seat and pat her Grandfather’s on the shoulder.
“Grandpa,” she began, “We went to Terlingua yesterday, let’s go to Marathon today?”
“I don’t recall every being in Marathon or hearing anything about it,” he told her. “What’s there to see?”
“I surfed on the internet last night on my laptop looking for art galleries nearby. In Marathon there is an art gallery by Mary Baxter.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard of her. What kind of art?” her grandfather inquired.
“She does contemporary landscape paintings, and animal sculptures,” Amber told him. “It’s not abstract art. You can actually tell what the painting is of.”
Mica overhearing the conversation joined in. “We could go on from there to Marfa and after we eat, stay and see the lights!” He was so enthused about the idea he forgot to stutter.
“Okay, everyone listen up,” Clifford said. “Amber has proposed a trip to Marathon to visit an art gallery.”
There was a loud groan from Flint and Garnet who were sitting in the back of the van.
“And Mica wants to keep going and visit Marfa where they claim to see extraterrestrial lights,” he continued ignoring the boys.
“Y’all up for a road trip or you want to hang around the pool again?” he asked.
The girls and Mica yelled, “Road Trip!”
“Four to two,” Clifford said. “Road trip it is.”
They quickly got cleaned up and headed over to Marathon which Amber had neglected to mention was a hundred miles away. When they arrived Amber was thrilled that she actually got to meet the painter who took an interest in looking at Amber’s sketch book that she’d brought along.
“You’ve got talent,” the artist told her. “You keep working at it!”
After the art gallery they continued on their way to Marfa. They stopped to eat dinner in Alpine and were on the road to Marfa when Clifford broke out in a cold sweat and began to feel nauseous. Evan noticed the gray look to his face and quickly dialed 911. They told him the quickest medical attention was back to the Big Bend Regional Medical Center in Alpine, and he could probably drive there himself faster than an EMS could find them.
Myron flipped a u-turn and headed back into town. Fear and tension filled the occupants of the van as they hunted for the Medical Center. Evan jumped out as soon as the van came to a stop by the ER door and rushed inside to get an attendant with a gurney.
They hustled Clifford into a room while Myron started on the paperwork. The ER nurse diagnosed Clifford’s condition as a heart attack in progress. They rushed him away to the cardiac center while Myron quickly filled out more paperwork to get him admitted to the hospital. He was unable to tell them what medications his father-in-law was taking but he did remember his physician’s name so they could check directly with him.
Twenty minutes later, after what seemed like hours to the anxious group gathered in the waiting room, a doctor appeared.
“We are going to transfer him to the Coronary Care Unit at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa,” the physician told them. “It is 150 miles away.
“The only way to make sure we get Mr. Warren there in time is on a twin-engine medevac plane,” he continued. “We can only let one person accompany him”.
“I’ll go,” Myron said.
“Here are the van keys,” he told Evan while handing him the keys. “I have your cell phone number and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.”
He hugged his son goodbye and told him not to worry before he turned on his heel and followed the doctor through the double doors.
The cousins stood there uncertain of what was happening.
“Come on,” Evan said taking charge. He took Ava’s hand and they herded the cousins out of the waiting room. “Worrying over your Grandpa won't help one way or the other. It won’t help to sit around and wait. We’re going to finish our trip to Marfa while we wait for the phone call.”
The trip to Marfa was a quiet one. The teens were subdued. Everyone was apparently sunk deep in their own thoughts. No one wanted to voice their fear aloud for fear of saying it would make it come true.
They arrived at Marfa near dark and followed the directions to the viewing platform located ten miles east of town, in an area called Mitchell Flat. They parked in the lot with cars from as far away as California. They climbed the wooden steps to join the few people that were already there waiting. Ava got out her camera to be ready to take a picture if the lights appeared.
Soon after climbing up on the platform Evan’s cell phone rang and Myron informed him that Clifford was in a coma after suffering the heart attack. He was in no immediate danger but the coma had the doctor’s worried. Myron promised to call again if there was any change in his condition.
The cousins settled down to wait for a glimpse of the famous ghost lights. Amber and Crystal stretched on their backs looking up at the ceiling of stars. After two hours, Ava yawned and stretched.
“I’m bored and we have a hike to do in the morning,” she said. “Let’s head back.”
“You mean we are still hiking? Without grandpa?” Garnet inquired.
“You bet we are,” Evan said firmly. “We have to finish this so you kids can collect on your trust fund. Your Grandfather would want you to complete this adventure.”
“Look!” Mica suddenly said, poking Opal in the ribs to wake her up and pointing off toward the horizon. “Two lights.”
The lights were about the size of basketballs and wavered around. As the group watched they merged together and then separated. The assembled crowd oohed as the lights seem to come toward the platform and then suddenly disappeared without a trace. Ava was so entranced that she forgot to take a picture.
The teenagers talked excitedly about the lights on the long trip back to Lajita’s Resort. Amber and Opal, unable to stay awake any longer, finally stretched out in the back and went to sleep.
Six tired and depressed teenagers ate breakfast in silence the next morning. They were on their fifth hike in as many days and they were tuckered out. The worry about their grandfather and the lack of sleep was combining to make all of them short tempered.
“I called Myron this morning,” Evan told them. “There is no change in your grandfather’s condition. He is stable, but in a coma. So let’s do this for him!”
Evan drove the van down into the Big Bend Basin for the hike on the Windows trail. The walk started at the Chisos Mountain parking lot. Once again they encountered signs warning of big cat activity. Mica led off and Evan brought up the rear.
It was Saturday and they had lots of other hikers out on the trail with them. They courteously stepped aside many times to let faster hikers proceed. They also had to step aside when those same hikers finished the walk and headed back in.
“The walk is starting out going downhill,” Ava commented. “You know what that means. Uphill on the way back!”
They had been hiking for a half hour when they reached a picnic area with a table and a wall.
“Let’s take a break,” Mica said, reaching for his water bottle. The others found seats and followed his example. Flint made a discrete trip into the brush to relief himself.
When he returned he asked, “Anyone want to see a big ole hairy tarantula?”
The girls declined but the guys all went to take a look. Ava went along to take a picture. Mica led the group back and they shouldered their packs and continued.
Soon they reached an area where the smooth trail ended and they had to climb over boulders to get any closer to the Window.
When the teens reached the end of the trail Mica pulled out his GPS and told them they were past the GPS coordinates and he led them back through the boulders.
Mica notice a man sitting on the boulders but instead of continuing on to the Window he got up and headed back toward
the lodge.
“Okay,” Mica announced just as he reached the spot the man had been sitting. “T-t-This is the spot.”
“Did you notice that man who was sitting here?” she asked Ava. “Did he seem like he was trying to avoid meeting up with us.”
“I saw him leave, but what makes you think he was trying to avoid us?” Ava responded.
“I think that was Rocky. You know the guy who bought me the ice cream cone.”
“Huh, that would be strange,” Ava said. “You better go help look for the cache.”
“Be careful,” Evan called. “Watch for snakes. Don’t put your hand into the brush; use your walking stick to probe for the bottle.”
The teens had shrugged out of their packs and were searching the area for hiding places.
“I hope we find it,” Flint observed. “Grandpa is the only one that knows where it was hidden.”
They ranged up both sides of the hill looking behind boulders, cactus, scrub trees, and clumps of grass. Crystal found the bottle when she climbed a huge smooth boulder and looked behind a cactus plant growing at the top.
“Hey, I found it,” she called to the group. They grouped around the base of the boulder looking up at her. She stuck the bottle into her backpack and looked uncertain.
“It was a whole lot easier getting up here, than it will be getting down,” she called.
“Anybody have any good advice?” she asked laughingly. Ava snapped her picture before replying.
“Okay, turn around and back down. It isn’t as steep as it looks,” she advised. “If you try to scoot down frontwards you are going to wear a hole in your shorts at the very least and possibly get hurt.”
She tossed down the bottle to Mica to free up her hands. She turned around and started down but suddenly lost her footing. Ava attempted to break her fall and they both went down in a heap.
The others rushed to help them up. Ava groaned as she tried to rise.
“I’m afraid I’ve twisted my knee,” she told her husband.
He helped her to a boulder and cautiously moved her knee. She winced and told him to leave it alone.
“Get in my pack,” she directed her husband. “There is an ace bandage in there. I can wrap my knee. I should be able to make it back.”
Evan found the bandage and she applied it, holding it with a butterfly clip. She stood up gingerly and was relieved to find the pain was bearable.
Ava grouped them together for the victory photograph before Mica opened the bottle. “f-f-Flint gets to l-l-lead the last hike,” he informed them. “It is the South Rim. Here are the coordinates: Latitude: 29.225796 / Longitude: -103.303009.
Ava was glad for a few minutes to rest her sore knee as the kids found seats and ate their snack. She dug into her pack for her own bag of M&M peanuts and then got a couple of acetaminophen. She quickly downed them and hoped they kicked in before they headed back up the trail toward the lodge.
There was a nice cool breeze and they could hear the waterfall. They chatted and for the time being forgot that their grandfather was laying in a hospital in Odessa.
Mica asked Ava if she was ready to try it. She nodded so he shouldered his pack, picked up his walking stick and called for them to head out. As they neared the parking lot Mica halted the group and pointed off the trail to a herd of javelina.
Ava quickly focused her camera to catch some pictures. There were two cute little babies with the herd which were foraging for food.
“They remind me of pot bellied pigs,” Opal whispered as they watched them.
The herd was completely used to humans and must have known they were in no danger. They ignored the group that gathered to watch them.
As other hikers came up, Mica finally signaled for his group to move on.
A welcome call came from Myron that afternoon as they lay around the pool.
“Clifford is awake and out of danger,” Myron reported to Evan. “He is alert and remembers everything up until the Emergency Room in Alpine. He was surprised to discover he was in Odessa.”
“Well let him know the kids found the bottle on the Windows Trail today,” Evan told him. “We are all set to do the last hike tomorrow.”
“Will do. The Doctors have a question about the medicine Clifford has been taking,” Myron said. “Can you go to our room and retrieve the prescription bottle?”
“Sure, won’t take a minute,” Evan said detecting a note of worry in Myron’s voice. He continued walking with his cell phone. He found rummaged through Clifford’s bag and found the pill bottle. He read the label out loud.
“That is what the Doctor in San Angelo told the hospital but they didn’t find any trace of the medicine in Clifford’s blood work,” Myron explained. “I’ll keep you posted.”
Evan returned to the pool. “If you didn’t overhear the conversation, I want you to know your grandfather is awake and much improved,” he told the teenagers after gathering them together in a group.
The cousins shouted and hugged each other enthusiastically.
Amber decided to go buy a get well card and have all her cousins sign it with her and drop it in the mail to their grandfather. She told Ava she was headed back to the room.
She took a shower and dressed. The others had not returned yet. She stepped into the gathering dusk and breathed out a sigh of relief. She closed the door behind her and smiled. She was learning to love her cousins but as an only child she was used to time to herself. She headed toward the boardwalk and the shops that lined it. She heard approaching footsteps and turned to see if one of her cousins was joining her. She saw a nice looking young man she’d never seen before.
He waved at her and broke into a jog to catch up to her. She waited to see what he wanted.
“Hi Opal,” he said. “I almost didn’t recognize you with the short hair. Looks good. You headed to get another ice cream cone?”
“Ahh,” Amber thought to herself. “This is the guy Opal met named Rocky!”
“Hi Rocky,” she said, never letting on that she wasn’t Opal. “My long hair was too much trouble what with hiking and swimming at the pool. I wasn’t headed for ice cream just to look around for a bit. How come you never come swimming at the pool?”
“Mind if I join you?” Rocky asked with a warm smile and started walking.
“I’ve been doing a lot of hiking,” Rocky explained. “Swimming has never been one of my favorite things to do.”
They wandered through the shops and Amber selected a get well card and some postcards. They chatted the whole time about the different trails they had hiked.
“Which trail are y’all doing tomorrow?” Rocky asked with a fixed stare.
“We are doing the South Rim,” Amber informed him.
“I haven’t done that one yet,” Rocky lied smoothly. “It is a long one isn’t it?”
“Yes 12 miles. Then we spend one last night here before heading home.”
“Well I’d better be going,” Rocky said as Amber headed back toward their rooms. “Y’all have a good hike tomorrow.”
As Amber approached her room she saw Evan coming the other direction from the pool and knew she’d been caught. She didn’t even try to avoid him but kept right on walking as if she’d done nothing wrong.
“Where have you been, young lady?” Evan asked when he reached her.
“I went to buy a Grandpa a get well card,” she said holding it up.
“You should have waited until Ava could go with you,” he reprimanded sternly.
“I’m sorry,” Amber said in a conciliatory tone. “I did meet that boy Rocky that Opal talked to. He thought I was her.”
“I was bad,” Amber said with a mischievous laugh. “I never told him I wasn’t Opal. We just talked for awhile and then he left.”
Evan looked thoughtful. “Okay, no harm done I guess. Myron called back and there is some sort of mix up with your Grandpa’s prescription. I already told the o
ther kids so I’ll update you.”
“Tests were run and the prescribed medication should have shown up in his blood work. Your grandfather insists he took his pill that morning. I’m headed to their room now to count the pills in the bottle.”
Evan counted the pills and reported back to Myron. The correct number of pills was missing from the bottle. Texas Rangers showed up at the resort shortly thereafter and took the prescription bottle in for testing.
Late that night Evan received yet another phone call from Myron.
“The pills in the bottle are just sugar pills,” he reported. “Because I was Clifford’s roommate it seems I’m the prime suspected for making the switch. It doesn’t help that I’ll also inherit some money if something happens to him.”
“Have you been arrested,” Evan asked in disbelief.
“Not officially. They are holding me without charging me. I guess they can do that for up to 72 hours. This is my one phone call. I wanted to let ya’ll know. Tell Garnet not to worry. I’ll just sit in jail until ya’ll get done hiking and head back. I’ll see you soon.”
“Wait, is there an officer there I can talk to?” Evan asked before Myron could hang up.
“Sure. Here,” Myron said handing the phone to the Texas Ranger next to him.
“Who am I talking to?” the officer asked.
“I’m Evan Wright and I’ve been with the group the whole trip. Did Myron tell you that their room was open one day soon after we got here? We came back from hiking and found the door to their room standing wide open. It never occurred to us that someone might have messed with Clifford’s prescription.”
“That’s interesting,” the office said. “Do you have proof of that?”
“Well all of us were together when we found it open,” Evan said. “And we did report it to the assistant manager also.”
“I’ll check into it,” the officer said.
The day for the last hike dawned overcast and there was mist shrouding the mountain peaks as they drove down into the Basin for their last day of hiking.
Evan was concerned about his wife’s knee, but she assured him that it was fine. She kept it wrapped and she’d taken a couple pain pills. She brought along extras just in case.
They were heading out very early because of the length of the hike. Flint led them up a gentle slope and took the trail toward the Laguna Meadow. The gentle terrain didn’t last and they soon found themselves climbing a long switchback. They watched the sun’s progress on the mountains ahead of them.