Mary’s Son Page 9

  It was at that moment that Sarah came to her senses. “You’re the one I saw on the street,” she said.

  Jared looked at her and smiled malevolently. “Yeah, you’re the rich girl.”

  “You shot at me,” Sarah whispered as the realization of the last seconds in the house struck her.

  “Sorry I missed,” he said sarcastically. “I’m outta here,” and he turned to walk away.

  “Stop him!” Sarah shouted needlessly. It was clear he could not walk away.

  “Enough!” shouted Nicholas. He turned to the boy. “You are not in control here, young man. We are not part of your little gang. We don’t jump at your every word. You are not ‘outta here.’ You will come with me and do as I say or you will never be ‘outta here.’”

  Jared was surprised at the power of Nicholas’s words.

  “And you, Miss Stone, will put aside your own selfish needs and follow me. You are no better than Mr. Roberts here. Hopefully, you will both learn to be human beings who aren’t interested only in yourselves.”

  Sarah was taken aback by the rebuke. Nicholas started toward the road and the travelers making their way. “Come with me,” he commanded.

  Sarah and Jared glared at each other for several seconds, knowing they had no choice but to stay together and follow Nicholas.

  A short time later the three of them stood at the road’s edge and watched a dark bearded man lead a donkey carrying a very pregnant woman. The woman smiled through obvious pain and discomfort, and the man glanced back at her with concern in his eyes. The woman was actually a girl of about seventeen. She was beautiful with dark hair pinned back loosely and bright blue eyes that sparkled with life despite her discomfort. The man, in his late twenties, was her husband. He was tall with a dark complexion and dark eyes and a carriage that bespoke strength of character and commitment.

  “We’ll be there by nightfall, Mary,” said the man. “Can you make it?”

  “I’ll be fine, Joseph. But please hurry.”

  “She’s about to have a baby,” Jared said.

  “Is she going to be all right?” asked Sarah.

  “She’s very close to her time, Sarah. She has traveled a long distance in this condition,” said Nicholas.

  “Do you know them?” asked Jared.

  “Yes,” said Nicholas, “and so do both of you.”

  The boy turned to Nicholas. “I’ve never seen them before.”

  Sarah shook her head, acknowledging the same.

  “You know them nonetheless,” Nicholas said. “It’s just that you have chosen to forget.”

  “Where are we?” Sarah asked again.

  “We’ve taken a little journey…to a place called Bethlehem. We’ve come to witness the first Christmas,” Nicholas said.

  Both kids were stunned. Although Sarah, who had witnessed much magic from Nicholas, was inclined to experience more, Jared was having none of it.

  “Give me a break, man,” he said. “Are you telling me we’ve gone back in time?”

  Nicholas nodded. Jared gawked at him and then at Sarah. He’d never considered hooking up with these two when he and his friends planned the Stone robbery. But he had indeed hooked up with them. For the time being, he had no choice and decided to bide his time, go along with the old guy and the rich girl, and look for his escape.

  “Who are you?” he finally asked Nicholas.

  “I’m one of the others you’ve forgotten,” Nicholas responded.

  “What does that mean?”

  Sarah stood to the side. Her mind wrestled with Jared’s question and with the knowledge she had of Nicholas. Nicholas glanced at her as the boy awaited his answer. Sarah resolved to reveal the truth…no matter how silly it sounded.

  “He’s…Santa Claus.”

  Nicholas smiled at Sarah, took her hand, and turned abruptly to follow the travelers. Jared shrugged, glanced around as if they were both crazy, and trotted after them.

  MARY Roberts stood at her kitchen counter, her right hand clutching the telephone receiver to her ear and her left hand covering her mouth. She was trying desperately to hold back the tears that started the moment Amanda had come back from her older brother’s room and told her Jared wasn’t there and that it looked like he hadn’t slept in his bed. A few moments later the phone rang.

  “Yes…thank you,” Mary said awkwardly and hung up. She turned to Amanda and the twins who were staring at her. Billy sat fidgeting in his highchair.

  “What happened to Jared, Momma?” asked Amanda, fear etched in her eyes. “Is he all right?”

  “They don’t know, honey. The police said…” Mary started as she wiped her eyes and glanced around absently before she resolved to do something.

  “C’mon, Amanda,” she said. “We have to go see someone.”

  “Who, Momma?” her daughter asked.

  “It’s about your brother,” she responded. She bustled about to ready the younger kids. “Now help me here, Amanda. We’ll see if Flora can watch the kids for a while.”

  Mary grabbed the twins’ hands. Amanda took Billy and followed her out of the kitchen.

  DETECTIVE Bruce Phillips hung up the telephone. Several plainclothes police officers sat at monitoring stations set up in Jonas’s library. They were awaiting a ransom call and coordinating the field search teams, which had fanned out across Penford Heights in ever-widening circles in search of any possible clue. Jonas hadn’t slept and was worn and disheveled in his tuxedo from the night before. He looked thoughtfully at the detective, who shook his head.

  “That was the boy’s mother,” Phillips said. “She was shocked. Apparently, she didn’t know her son wasn’t at home. I told her to get down to the station and talk to Dexter. Maybe she can help us. Other than that, we’ve heard nothing yet. We’ve got the whole force looking for them. Something will turn up.”

  “Thanks,” Jonas mumbled and plopped down heavily in a chair.

  “Look…Jonas…why don’t you get some sleep?” Phillips suggested. “We’ll be here. We’ll wake you if anything breaks.”

  Jonas nodded mechanically. Stevens took his arm, helped him out of the chair, and walked with him out of the room.

  - 12 -

  The sun dropped below the horizon while travelers trudged in loose groups down the hill toward the tiny town of Bethlehem. In the distance the first flickers of the warming fires of shepherds could be seen while in the fading light flocks of sheep huddled together for the evening.

  Nicholas, Sarah, and Jared stood at the town’s east end, watching Joseph lead the donkey upon which Mary was riding. It was clear to them that Mary was struggling with her burden. Joseph recognized Mary’s intense discomfort, and he stopped the animal, helped Mary to the ground, and sat her down against a post in front of the closest inn.

  “Wait here, Mary,” he said tenderly. “I’ll find a place for us for the night.”

  Mary nodded and smiled through her pain and discomfort, and Joseph walked off toward the door of the inn.

  “She’s not going to make it,” whispered the boy. “I saw my mom like this…just before Billy. She needs help fast.”

  “Come this way, Jared,” said Nicholas, motioning for the boy to accompany him and Sarah.

  Jared hesitated for several seconds, not sure whether he should try to help Mary or follow the other two. He turned to Nicholas and Sarah, just as Joseph was walking away from the first inn and approaching a second.

  The three watched with concern as Joseph went from inn to inn, only to have doors slammed in his face with shouts of “We’re full!” and “Too crowded!” from the proprietors. When Joseph approached the final inn, it appeared as noisy and overwhelmed as the others, but he had to try. His wife was about to give birth and could not do so on the cobbled roads of the town. He knocked. The door opened, and a harried little man looked out.

  “Please, sir, my wife is ready to give birth. Could we have a place to stay?” Joseph asked.

  The little man was unimpressed with Joseph’s
plea. He was having enough trouble trying to satisfy the throng of people already inside his inn.

  “No room!…Go away!” he said. “We have no more room!”

  “I just need a shelter, sir…any shelter,” Joseph begged.

  “We have nothing!”

  Jared stepped forward to address the innkeeper.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he shouted. “She’s pregnant. You gotta help.”

  The door slammed. Joseph dropped his head to control his rising fear before he turned and walked away. Jared ran to the door, hammered on it, and kicked it. He turned to Nicholas.

  “Can’t you do anything?”

  “Not here, Jared. None of us can. We are only observers. No one can see us. No one can hear us,” Nicholas responded.

  “What’s going to happen to her?” asked Sarah.

  Nicholas simply turned to follow Joseph.

  Frustrated, Joseph approached Mary, afraid to give her the unhappy news. The young woman sat awkwardly, her eyes closed. Despite her predicament she seemed at peace, with her hands holding her stomach. Joseph touched her shoulder. As she looked up, he shook his head “no.” Mary tried to reassure her husband not to give up hope. Joseph crouched next to his wife and took her in his arms while his eyes scanned the streets in search of possible shelter. At that moment a middle-aged woman carrying two large empty water buckets stepped up to Mary and Joseph. Joseph was surprised and stood up between Mary and the woman, who was intently viewing her.

  “I wasn’t sure if you were making up a story about a pregnant wife back there.” The woman pointed to the last inn and then looked at Mary. “It’s pretty clear it was not a story. This young woman is at her time.”

  She gently pushed Joseph aside, bent to Mary, extended a hand, and said, “I know a place… come. It’s not much. But it’s a shelter. Can you travel?”

  Mary nodded slowly and leaned forward to take the lady’s hand.

  “Come, then,” she said, smiling warmly. She turned to Joseph. “Take your wife. I will show you where and come to help when I can.”

  Joseph assisted Mary onto the donkey, and the woman led them toward a hill and a distant cave.

  The three visitors followed for a few steps and then stopped when Nicholas held his hands out to either side to hold his companions back. He appeared to be thinking or listening to some instruction with a confused look on his face.

  “Why are we stopping?” asked Sarah.

  “Yeah, let’s follow them,” said Jared.

  “We’ll see them later. I have something else for you to see now,” Nicholas said. His companions watched Mary and Joseph start their trek up the hill.

  “What is this?” Jared asked angrily. “We can’t just walk away from this.”

  “Be patient,” said Nicholas.

  THE three travelers found themselves standing in front of a dilapidated wood structure that looked very much like some of the structures that straddled the streets of the Sink. On either side of the hard-packed dirt road were other squat structures made of clay, stone, and wood. The oil-lit interiors cast their glow in uneven intervals onto the road as travelers either reveled in the public eating establishments or made their way through shops still open in the early evening. The well-heeled people for the most part walked in the middle of the road, holding tightly to money purses and valuables and avoiding the shadows where the homeless and wretched skulked.

  In one of those shadows stood a boy, dirty and disheveled, wearing a tattered cloak as his only warmth against the night cold. Although he looked tired and hungry, he stood tall and proud. He eyed the street scene and the parade of visitors to his small hometown. He appeared to be about Sarah’s or Jared’s age. His name was Simon. Something about the boy caught Jared’s attention, and he watched him closely. His bearing was that of a leader, much like the bearing of Jared himself.

  In the middle of the road a man in his mid-twenties walked quickly to some destination, with his wife clutching tightly to his arm. The young man and woman were dressed in fine clothing of silk and wool, and it was clear to Simon that these two were strangers to the mean streets, those upon which the wealthy rarely tread. The couple’s pace was fast as they hoped to be invisible to the street hawkers and vagabonds who wished to separate them from their money.

  As the couple walked past Simon, ten street urchins ran out of the shadows and accosted them. The street urchins were boys aged five to twelve years. They begged, pushed, and grabbed at the man and woman, who tried to break past, all the while looking fearfully at the boys. By the time the couple had extricated themselves from the chaos, they were relieved but failed to notice that the man’s money purse had fallen to the ground. Immediately, the boys jumped on the purse, fighting and pulling as the man and woman scurried away.

  Simon walked calmly into the melee, started pulling boys out of the pile, and began fighting them for the purse. As fists and feet flew, it quickly became apparent that Simon was the strongest of the bunch, and he finally stood alone, holding the purse aloft. Several other boys rubbed bruised body parts and glared at him. Simon stood ready for more, but no one came after him.

  “All right…he got it!” shouted Jared, who knew all along that Simon was special.

  “C’mon, Simon,” whimpered one of the beaten boys.

  Simon opened the purse, pulled out one coin, and held it aloft.

  “Come here, James,” Simon commanded one of the boys. “This will feed all of us tonight.” He handed the coin to the boy. “Take the others with you.”

  James took the coin and the other nine followed him, massaging their wounds with disgruntled looks. Simon pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders again and turned up the street in the same direction the wealthy man and woman had gone.

  “He’s a good man. He must be the leader of that gang,” whispered Jared. He watched Simon with some pride.

  “Yes, he is,” answered Nicholas.

  “I like him,” Jared said smugly.

  “That isn’t his money. They stole it,” offered Sarah.

  “What do you know, little girl?” Jared turned on her sharply. “Those people have plenty; just like you do. If they won’t share it, we take it.”

  “‘We’?” asked Nicholas.

  “Yeah, ol’ Simon there…and me,” Jared responded.

  “Because you’re a leader too? Like him?”

  “You got that right,” the boy nodded.

  “Where’s he going now?” asked Sarah.

  Simon had walked to the main street and turned the corner to the front of an inn crowded with the wealthier visitors. He stopped and stared toward the hills outside the town. From his vantage he could see an unusually large star suspended high in the sky, casting bright rays directly upon what appeared to be a cave. He was mesmerized for several seconds, when suddenly the wealthy young man and woman whose purse Simon held, stepped frantically out of the inn.

  “I was carrying it right here, Elizabeth,” the man said, pointing to the belt of his robe. “Those animals…I know they took it.” He turned in anger, trying desperately to determine his next move in the hopes of recovering his money.

  “Andrew, let’s go to the authorities,” Elizabeth pleaded.

  “For what? What can they do with this rabble?”

  By then, Nicholas and his companions had reached the inn, and Jared smiled at the wealthy couple’s discomfort. “Yeah, they’ll sure be able to do something. They’d never catch Simon,” Jared said.

  Within another moment, however, it became quite apparent that no one would have to catch Simon. He stepped calmly out of the inn’s shadows and up to the couple.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” asked Jared.

  Simon held the purse up to Andrew. “This is yours. You dropped it.”

  Andrew was stunned. He reached for the purse, dazed at the thought that part of the “rabble” was actually returning his money.

  “Are you crazy?” asked Jared, shocked that this boy would even consider returni
ng the money. He believed that Simon and his gang needed it and deserved it more than these two rich folks. Why would Simon be so foolish?

  “They’re poor and hungry,” Simon said to Andrew. “I took one coin out to feed them all. That will serve as my reward for returning your purse.”

  Andrew and Elizabeth stared at each other, too stunned to say anything. Simon then looked at the star above the cave and set out toward it. When the young couple finally regained their senses and turned toward Simon, he was gone.

  “We must find that boy,” said Andrew. “There is hope yet in this world, Elizabeth, and we must do what we can to help someone with that young boy’s strength and character.” Andrew touched his wife lightly on the arm, and he set out at a trot after Simon.

  SIMON made his way up the shallow dirt path toward the cave, over which the unusual star seemed to rest. A stable had been built into the front of the cave with the front half of it protruding outside the cave. The stable entry was crowded with young shepherds while others sat along the path, talking in hushed tones. Although all seemed excited, there was a sense of peace among the shepherds, who spent long days and nights tending their flocks for the meager livings their work provided.

  Simon stood, hands on his hips, glancing back and forth between the magnificent star and the shepherds. He puzzled over the appearance of a star so bold and bright yet viewable with the naked eye without pain. He wondered at the seeming joy of the shepherds, who by many accounts were as poor as he.

  Although he was orphaned, there was a time in Simon’s early years that his father had tried to teach him the Hebrew Scriptures about the coming of a Savior. He hadn’t given any of it much thought after his parents died because he had to learn to survive on the streets. Yet some of the lessons had stuck, and he remembered the prophesy. He recalled that a star would lead the way, and somehow he knew that this was indeed that star.