Reconstructed Luka
Part Five B
By Miesque
miesque48@hotmail.com

SPOILERS: None that I know of.
STORY SYNOPSIS: Luka endures being “Childered” and bonds with his father-in-law while being stared at by a stuffed bull.

DISCLAIMER I: The character of Luka Kovac is the sole property of NBC, Warner Brothers, Amblin, and Constant C. I created Marguerite ‘Daisy’ Childers one day several months ago and she pretty much belongs to me ;).
DISCLAIMER II: I am not a doctor, therefore I am 'guessing' at how these things would go based on information in the Merck Manual and one my editors’ experience of working with people with all kinds of circulatory problems. However, if there’s any mistakes, it’s MY FAULT, not my editor’s!
DISCLAIMER III: The bird dog/Victoria’s Secret model reference is from P.J. O’Rourke.

SONGS: ‘Highway Patrol’, by Junior Brown; ‘You Got It’, by Roy Orbison; ‘Watching The Wheels’, by John Lennon; ‘Smells Like Nirvana’, by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic (I just couldn’t help myself...)

CORRECTION: They’re driving an RV and pulling a Grand Cherokee. A high-speed car chase hardly bears contemplating. ;-) Good pick-up, Ali.

PRAISE TO: Three extraordinary friends who provide continued and loyal support, inspiration, and encouragement (besides top-notch editing!).

PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: Not necessary, but see “Deconstructing Luka” (parts 1-6) for details.



People say I’m crazy, doing what I’m doing
Well, they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I say that I’m okay, they look at me kind of strange
Surely you’re not happy now, you no longer play the game

People say I’m lazy, dreaming my life away
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I'm doing fine, watching shadows on the wall
Don't you miss the big time, boy, you’re no longer on the ball?

I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

People asking questions, lost in confusion
Well, I tell them there’s no problem, only solutions
Well, they shake their heads and look at me as if I’ve lost my mind
I tell them there's no hurry...
I'm just sitting here doing time

I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

Things quieted down after dark. Almost everyone went back to town and their hotels, and Luka sat out on the back porch, holding Daisy in his lap, listening to the radio playing through the kitchen window. Her brothers sat around in the yard, rocking in their chairs and talking. Leah, who had arrived late in the afternoon, sat near Joe.

“What does Leah do for a living, Dais’?” Luka asked.

“She’s a bank clerk now,” Daisy answered. “Last year she was a dog groomer.”

“She’s not into steady jobs, then?”

“No...not really.” Daisy watched her sister for a moment. Daisy felt nervous whenever Leah was around Luka. Her older sister had been married briefly to a...what was he again? Some kind of businessman in Pecos, but they had divorced after just three years. Daisy had heard through her mother that Leah and...James? Jake?...had not gotten along too well and then something had happened of an ‘adulterous’ kind. Daisy’s mother never liked talking about it, that was for sure. Divorce was still a rare and scandalous thing in the Childers family.

So now, Leah was alone again, childless, and Daisy pitied her. They were no longer close. Sure, a phone call now and then with general news. Leah went through a few boyfriends, but never anything serious. It seemed like Leah was floundering, and Daisy didn’t know how to help her or even to give advise without being brushed off.

Finally, she got up and made her way to her sister. “Hi, Leah.”

“Hi.”

They were like strangers. Leah didn’t even look healthy or happy. She was too thin, her hair was cut short and kind of spiky, and she seemed cold and unfriendly.

“Leah...is there anything you...need? I mean, maybe you can come up and visit us in Chicago for Christmas...”

Leah shook her head. “I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”

Defeated, Daisy went back to Luka and sat down beside him on the porch swing.

“No luck, huh?” he asked.

“No. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”



Luka sat up, startled, and groaned-a Childers teenager was playing music from a car stereo, the noise reverberating through the house, and Luka contemplated filling a bucket with hot water and pouring it on the little punk (thus ruining his hairdo) for waking him up at...good God...six in the morning. But as he listened to the song, he started laughing. Apparently, this kid had a sense of humor.

What is this song all about?
Can’t figure any lyrics out
How do the words to it go?
I wish you’d tell me, I don’t know
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, oh no
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know

Now I’m mumblin’ and I’m screamin’
And I don’t know what I’m singin’
Crank the volume, ears are bleedin’
I still don’t know what I’m singin’
We’re so loud and incoherent
Boy this oughtta bug your parents
Yeah

It’s un-in-tel-ligible
I just can’t get it through my skull
It’s hard to bargle nawdle zouss(?)
With all these marbles in my mouth
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, oh no
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know...

Well we don’t sound like Madonna
Here we are now, we’re Nirvana
Sing distinctly? We don’t wanna
Buy our album, we’re Nirvana
A garage band from Seattle
Well, it sure beats raising cattle
Yeah

And I forgot the next verse
Oh well, I guess it pays to rehearse
The lyric sheet’s so hard to find
What are the words? Oh, nevermind
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, oh no
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know...

Well, I’m yellin’ and we’re playin’
But I don’t know what I’m sayin’
What’s the message I’m conveyin’?
Can you tell me what I’m sayin’?
So have you got some idea?
Didn’t think so, well, I’ll see ya!
Sayonara, sayonara
Ayonawa, adinawa
Odinaya, yodinaya
Yaddayadda, yaaahyaaah
Ayaaaaah!

Luka sat on the bed and chuckled, shaking his head. Ah, to be young again, he thought.

This was Day Two of the Childers Family Invasion, and he wasn’t really looking forward to twenty-four more hours of this. Daisy was already downstairs, helping her mother cook. Luka could smell breakfast being made-eggs, sausage, bacon, oatmeal...anything you wanted. He only wanted a cup of coffee and some place to sit where it was quiet. Maybe he’d get that Peters guide to the birds of West Texas and take Aleks for a walk later. The boy had said he wanted to find a rattlesnake skin and a blue jay feather.

He got up and took a quick shower, and stood at the sink, shaving, wearing only his jeans. It was a relatively cool morning, so he had the windows open. He could hear a cardinal ‘cheeping’ outside, and was pausing to listen for a moment when he looked into the mirror again and nearly jumped out of his skin. Leah was standing there behind him. After getting his heart to resume normal rhythm, he said “Hello” and washed the shaving cream off the razor. He wiped his face with a towel and turned around.

“Morning,” she answered.

“Uh...I’m about to go down to breakfast,” he said quickly, growing uncomfortable. She was looking at him with interest, eyes trailing down, then back up to his chest and finally to his face again.

“You’re hungry?” she asked, moving a little closer, blocking his escape.

“Uh...yeah. I just hope my stomach can handle...uh...catfish tonight...”

“I’m sure your stomach can handle a lot of things,” she said softly, moving even closer.

“Leah!”

Luka closed his eyes. Daisy was standing in the doorway, staring at them. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she didn’t look happy. Leah turned to stare at her, then looked away, out the window, swallowing.

“Daisy, I...” Luka began.

“It’s all right, Luka. Leah, we need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say, Daisy.”

“You had plenty to say to my husband, didn’t you? Now come on!”

Leah glared at Daisy, then turned and marched out the door. Daisy followed her, leaving Luka standing there staring down at the razor. Well, this day hadn’t started out well. He never knew what to do when women made passes at him. That woman in New York had scared him half to death, besides tempting him, but Leah was certainly no temptation.

He pulled a shirt on and went downstairs, hoping that Daisy wasn’t strangling Leah to death in the stables. And he’d also have to work on a proper apology for later.



“I can’t believe you’d do a thing like that!” Daisy said, shaking her head in amazement. “It was bad enough when you flirted with him in Pecos ten years ago, but now...Leah, that was simply shameful of you. Disgusting, in fact.”

Leah still said nothing. She just looked down, staring at the straw-covered floor of the stables.

“Why? Why would you do that, Leah? You know there’s no excuse for that...”

“I’m just so...lonely, Dais’. You have everything. Five beautiful kids, a gorgeous husband, a great job...and nothing has worked out for me. Jake cheated on me, Daisy. I loved him, and he just...left me for a slut that worked in his office. Like I was nothing...and to see you...you never had this problem. You always knew what you wanted and you went out and got it. You wanted Luka and you won him so easily, and...everybody always liked you, Daisy. You had all the friends...”

“Oh, come on, Leah. You have plenty of friends...”

“Where are they now?”

Daisy sat down beside Leah and put her arms around her. “Leah, you’ll always have me. You’ll always have one friend.”

“You have to be my friend...you’re kin.” She wiped her eyes. “Daisy, I’m so sorry...I...I guess I’ve always had a crush on Luka.”

“Every heterosexual female who sees him gets a crush on him, Leah. But...please don’t do that again. Because if you do, I’ll be very calm as I walk over to you and quietly kill you.”

Leah burst into laughter. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “Will you forgive me?”

“Nothing happened, so what’s to forgive?” Daisy said, looking down.

“I made a pass at your husband, Daisy. I behaved...horribly. And it won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Just get your life back together again, Leah. Find yourself...”

“Find myself? I’m right here. And people go West to find themselves, and I’m already in the West, so that’s out. What’s after California? I mean, what if I get to California and still don’t find myself? What do I do then? Turn into a tree?”

“Become a sequoia and we can drive through you.”

Leah giggled, relieved to see that her sister had forgiven her. They hugged fiercely.

“You know, Leah, Luka does have that unmarried brother...Gregor. He’s very good-looking, kind of withdrawn...”

“I’ve never even met him, Leah.”

“So? Go to Egypt. Track him down. He still lives in Cairo or Alexandria or some place like that. Who knows...he’s a nice guy, anyway.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Remember when Luka and I went to Croatia a few summers ago? Left the kids with Mama and Daddy? Yeah, I met him then. He came to Split. Very attractive, kind of charming...a little...what’s the word? Musty? He’s a writer, kind of grouchy, enigmatic, and I’ll admit, he’s not as gorgeous as Luka, but he has the Kovac genes, so your kids would be pretty darned lucky. He teaches journalism at one of the universities.”

“So I could find myself in Egypt, Dais’?” Leah laughed. “I’d probably find myself in quicksand or the love slave of some dissipated desert sheik.”

“Well it’s just a suggestion. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

The two women walked back across the yard and onto the back porch. “I think they’re expecting us to be all bloodied up and bruised,” Leah said.

“Nah. We did that back when I was fifteen and you were seventeen. It’d just be the same old-same old.”

Leah laughed and they went back inside.



Daisy loved making Luka crazy sometimes. It wasn’t something she did often, as she loved him so much, but she did enjoy keeping him on his toes. All through breakfast she was silent, saying nothing in response to Luka’s careful questions. Kathryn bustled about, clearly nervous, while the other Childers offspring and grandchildren shuffled about, clearly aware that something was up. Daisy, however, was the calm, unruffled center of the storm.

Finally, after finishing her meal and helping to clean up, she went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, tucking her legs under herself and settling down to read through an old copy of ‘Western Horseman’. Luka came in and sat down beside her. When she didn’t respond to him, he began pacing. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, fighting to keep from smiling and giving herself away.

He sat down beside her again, elbows on his knees, clearly worried. “Daisy?”

“Hmm?” she answered absently, turning a page in the magazine.

“Daisy, I’m sorry. But I’m not asking you to forgive me, or to even like me. I’m just asking you to let me live with you.”

She looked at him for a moment, then returned her attention to the magazine.

“Because I would die without you, Daisy. You’re like...water to me. I can’t live without you.”

Daisy turned her head and smiled at him. “Luka, you didn’t do anything. Leah was in the wrong, and she’s apologized and I’ve forgiven her. So there’s no issue at hand here, is there?”

He swallowed. “Uh...there isn’t?”

“Were you tempted?”

“No.”

“But you have been tempted in the past, haven’t you?” she asked, putting the magazine down.

He looked down for a moment. “It’s not adultery to be tempted, Daisy. It’s only adultery when you act on the temptation. So yes, I’ve been tempted. But I never could...I could never be with someone else. It would be...horrible of me to hurt you like that.”

She touched his face, turning his head toward her, and kissed him. “And I would kill you,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Yes, I know you would. And I’d deserve it.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her gratefully, relieved. They were still kissing when they heard a shout from the kitchen.

“Will!”

Luka was on his feet and in the kitchen before Daisy could even react. He saw his father-in-law standing near the table, looking dazed and confused.

“Mr. Childers, sit down,” Luka ordered quickly. Meekly-which was very out of character for William Childers-the older man sat down at the table.

Simon and Ben were standing at the other side of the kitchen, clearly startled, neither having any idea what to do. “Should we call 911?” Simon asked.

“Damned lot of good that’d do,” Ben said. “It’d take ‘em an hour to get here! ‘sides, Luka’s a doctor...”

“Daisy,” Luka said quickly. “Go out to the car and get my bag.”

She turned and rushed out. When Luka used that tone of voice, it was best to just move and ask questions later.

When she returned, Luka took his blood pressure from both arms. “It was a TIA, Mr. Childers,” he said. “Your BP is one-seventy over one-ten.”

“What’s a TIA?” Daisy asked.

“His brain is momentarily short of oxygen. It’s a circulatory problem, Dais’. Don’t worry...it’s not an emergency and it’s treatable.” Luka answered quietly. William looked up at him, eyes almost colorless with fear and confusion. “Mr. Childers...you really do need to see your doctor. The next attack could very well *be* a stroke.”

Kathryn put her hands on her husband’s shoulders. “Sweetheart, I’ve been telling you that for weeks now...”

“I don’t want to see a doctor,” he said sulkily, looking down. His speech was slightly slurred, which alarmed Luka.

He looked up at Daisy and Kathryn, and beyond to his two brothers-in-law. “Mr. Childers, we should talk alone, okay? We should...we should go into the living room. Daisy, could you bring him a glass of water?”

Everyone moved back as William shakily stood up and left the room with Luka. Kathryn stared at Daisy. “Will he be able...?”

“I don’t know, Mama. Luka’s not a talker, but he’s a wonderful listener.”



“Mr. Childers...”

William walked shakily to the bar and started to pour Luka a shot of bourbon, but Luka shook his head firmly and lead the old man to the easy chair, then took a seat on the Queen Anne sofa. The calfskin fell on his shoulders, and he pushed it away. He glanced up at Pete and made a toast to the bull, then looked at William.

“I need a drink,” William said absently. “Help yourself to some bourbon, there, son...”

Daisy appeared just then with the glass of water for William. He took a grateful drink. “I’d rather be downing a shot a’ bourbon right now,” he said shakily.

“I can’t allow that, Mr. Childers...and right now, I don’t want a drink either. I never drink alone.”

She smiled briefly at her husband, then glanced with worried eyes at her father. Luka nodded for her to go. “It’s all right, baby,” he said softly. She nodded and left, closing the door quietly.

“It’s been a hard year,” the old man said at last.

Luka had not thought of William Childers as old until now. But now, he looked old beyond his years. The hard work of a rancher was catching up on him, and Luka had a feeling that perhaps his body just couldn’t take the stress any more.

“Yes, I heard about...”

“Yes. You know, my great-grandpa built this house from the ground up. He lost everything in a...a...what’s the word...no rain for months?”

Luka swallowed. “A drought?”

William nodded vaguely. “Then in the wintertime floods wiped out everything that was left, the bank was threatenin’ to foreclose, and their youngest baby died of scarlet fever. He told his wife that he wouldn’t blame her a bit if she packed up and went back home to Tennessee, where she was born. That this place was gonna kill ‘em both.”

Luka looked down, remembering telling his first wife almost the same thing while they were at Vukovar. That she ought to leave, but she had said...

“She said, ‘I will never leave you’. And she didn’t. She stayed with him for another fifty-five years, even though for a long time they were as poor as Job’s turkey. When she died, his heart just...gave out. That’s what happens to the men in my family, y’know. When their wives die, they just don’t have anything in ‘em any more and they don’t last long. Like the spirit...the spirit’s just gone from ‘em.”

“Yes. I understand, Mr. Childers...but I think I should listen to your heart for a moment...”

“William. Call me William, son.” Luka grabbed his stethoscope, warming it quickly against his palm, and carefully listened to the man’s heartbeat, lungs and the carotid arteries in his neck. He didn’t like what he was hearing. He could hear the familiar sound of bruits in his neck, possibly signifying blockage. His heart rate was a little elevated at ninety-two.

“Are you experiencing dizziness, or double vision?” Luka asked, stepping back and pulling the stethoscope off.

William shook his head. “No...but I...I couldn’t see out of one eye for a minute there...”

“Have you fainted before?”

“No.”

“William, you had a TIA. Transient ischemic attack...a temporary loss of blood supply to part of the brain. It may be your body’s way of telling you that you have a problem with your circulation, and you may eventually have a stroke, unless you seek treatment. What you had was like a stroke, only it’s entirely reversible and can be treated...and no damage has been done.”

The old man didn’t seem to hear Luka. He stared off into space for a moment, then looked at Luka again, his expression softening.

“I’ve worked hard all my life, Luka. Slaved in the sun, working cattle and horses, plowed fields...when I was a boy it was behind a team of mules...my Daddy hated tractors...then it was on a John Deere tiller. I never thought about gettin’ old and yet...here I am, old. Old and tired. One day I looked up and my kids were all grown up and I had a passle of grandkids and...I’ll tell you, Luka...when you married my Daisy, I felt s’ old and shriveled up. My baby girl was gone...” He looked down. “Don’t tell the others, but she was my favorite.”

Luka gave his father-in-law a kind smile. “She’s my favorite, too. I don’t just love her, Mr....William. I like her. Very much. You raised a wonderful daughter.”

William looked pleased. “She’s the prettiest thing this side of the Mississippi...after her Mama,” he said proudly. “I remember when she was born. Goin’ outside and passin’ cigars around to everybody. It was one of my better days.”

The old man looked up at Luka, and seemed startled, as if he had forgotten his son-in-law was there.

“William...you know I had two children before...”

“Yes.” It had not been discussed a great deal. William had always felt uncomfortable about that, unable to figure out a way to express his sympathy to the younger man.

“When they died, part of me died, too. But the rest of me was still alive, and I was determined to stay alive. I had to do that, for them. And now, I have Daisy and the kids, and I have to take care of myself so that I can be around for them in years to come. It’s the same for you...your kids want you around for a long time.”

“I know.”

“And these spells you’re having. The temporary blindness, weakness...they’re warning signs of something far more dangerous. Do you have high blood pressure? High cholesterol?”

“High blood pressure...higher lately...”

“And do you take medication for it?”

“Yes. But...I forget sometimes.”

“William, you can’t afford to forget. People in your age group, with high blood pressure, are at high risk for stroke.”

William shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Stroke?” He sounded unwillingly to believe Luka.

“TIAs are an indication of cerebrovascular disease...that is, you have small buildups of fatty tissue and calcium blocking the blood flow in the arteries that supply oxygen to the brain.”

William studied him for a moment, then looked down, breathing out slowly. “What would the doctor do to me?” he asked softly.

“Probably an ultrasound scan and a Doppler flow study.”

“What’s that?”

“They measure the size of the blockage and determine the amount of blood that can flow around it.”

“Then what?”

Luka’s mind was in it’s most comfortable gear. He was talking about something he knew about, rather than the reign of Ramses the Great or the fact that hard radiation is ionizing radiation with a high degree of penetration. “If the carotid arteries are significantly narrowed, your doctor would order an MRI scan of the arteries or cerebral angiography to determine the size and location of the blockage.”

“Sounds...horrible...like getting wrapped up in barbed wire.”

“It’s usually painless.” Luka swallowed, glancing up at Pete, who continued to glare down at him. "But William, I have to tell you, if the doctor does indeed find carotid blockage, which only the tests can indicate for sure...and the blockage is large...then surgery to remove the blockage is a possibility. But let's get the testing done first and see what the problem is. But...the major issue here is that like most people, you’re...you’re afraid of not having control. Of not being in charge. You’ve been in charge all your life, and now your health is in danger and...”

“I’m terrified,” William said softly.

“Then get the help you need, William. For your family. They love you, and they wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything happened to you.”

The old man studied Luka for a long time. From the beginning, he had felt vaguely uneasy about this strange, mysterious man. The accent had been the first thing, but also that air of authority about him...not even William’s big, strong sons had that quiet strength to them. He felt like an old wolf whose pack had a challenger for leadership. William figured that was foolish of him-Luka was in charge of his own pack-but it was still there. That twinge of resentment. Luka had taken his daughter from him. It was purely psychological, he knew, but he feared that somehow Luka would also take his position from him as patriarch of the family. That wasn’t the case, of course. If it were, Luka wouldn’t give a damn if he had a stroke or not.

“You’re a good man there, Luka,” William said at last. “A very good man...”

Luka was startled by that statement, but nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re makin’ my daughter, happy, right?”

“I do my best.”

“Yep. She’s happy. She’s always smilin’, always laughin’, always lookin’ like life is a grand thing for her...” His voice trailed off and he seemed to be staring off at some distantly remembered thing.

“Daisy makes life a grand thing, William. She makes our lives better just by being Daisy.”

William looked at him again, obviously a little confused. It was as if he didn’t know who Luka was for a moment. Then he seemed to pull himself back together. He nodded, smiling slowly.

Luka’s mind was racing. The old man was able to communicate well, but there had been that moment just now when he didn’t seem to remember where he was or what was happening. That was a concern. But he seemed to have recovered from the attack. Luka, however, was determined to convince him to see a doctor.

“William, you have to promise me that you’ll see your doctor. This can be treated and kept under control with medications and maybe a change in diet or lifestyle, depending on what the doctor sees.”

“What would have to be done?” William asked cautiously. “Doctors are big on tests. And I’m not sure I want to hear the bad news when it comes...”

“It’s the only way to find out what’s not working correctly. That way, they can treat the symptoms and control the risk factors...and you want to avoid a stroke at all costs.”

William studied Luka for a moment, then nodded wearily.

“So you’ll go to the doctor?”

“Yes. I will.”

Luka grinned. “I’m glad to hear that.”

He stood up slowly, waiting for the older man to get up. William stood and drew his breath in slowly, then exhaled. “You promise you won’t tell Katie that I’m scared, Luka? You won’t tell her?”

“I won’t, William. I won’t say a word. You have to tell her.”

Nodding, William smiled softly, turned and headed back to the kitchen. Luka stood in the room for a moment, looking up at Pete, who didn’t look quite so malevolent any more.

“There, you big bastard. Thought you had me beaten, didn’t you?” He went to the bar, poured himself a shot of bourbon, and downed it one swallow, then followed his father-in-law back into the kitchen to listen to more discussion about Lenz’s Law and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.



Luka did his best to avoid eating much catfish. He liked the hushpuppies though, and was sitting with Daisy’s uncle Thomas, listening to him talk about Poncho Villa, dipping balls of fried cornbread in ketchup and popping them into his mouth.

He had driven William to El Paso that morning, and they had sat in Dr. Mayhall’s office, discussing various treatment options, and William’s prognosis appeared to be good, though Mayhall hadn’t yet ruled out surgery to remove the carotid blockage. So far, William only had to take aspirin, but he had a battery of appointments and tests coming up in the next few weeks.

When they returned, the Childers family had been ‘quietly elated’ to learn that William was all right. Kathryn hugged Luka so many times his neck started hurting, and Daisy’s brothers kept whacking him on the back. Daisy just smiled and promised him a special ‘reward’ at bedtime. The cousins all grinned at him and tried to involve him in conversations. When they discovered he had grown up on a farm, they would scarcely leave him alone. “What kind of beef cattle do y’all have in Croatia?” one of them asked, and Luka honestly couldn’t remember. He had only dealt with his grandfather’s Guernsey dairy cows.

What was best, however, was how much easier the conversation had been between the two men. William was actually... effusive? He asked Luka countless questions about Croatia, until Luka felt like he was being interrogated. But all in all, he had enjoyed the day with his father-in-law. Later, sitting in the living room, watching a baseball game with his brothers-in-law, Luka noticed that Pete couldn’t hold his gaze any more. He realized then that he had been truly accepted.

Thomas had pulled up a chair beside Luka, and was talking in his usual steady, sing-songy voice that Luka figured horses appreciated. “Poncho’d come ridin’ into town with his bad of good-for-nothin’s and start stealin’ horses. So this old trainer-Tom Smith was his name-would put mud on the legs of his string of Thoroughbreds, so Poncho’d think they was all lame and wouldn’t take ‘em,” Thomas said. “That Tom...he knew his hosses. Trained some great ones later-Seabiscuit in partic’lar.”

“Really?” Luka said. He had no idea who Seabiscuit was, but Thomas was interesting enough. He much preferred one-on-one conversations with Daisy’s more colorful relatives. In a group setting he found himself almost panicked.

“You much of a horseman, Luka?” Thomas asked him.

“No, not really. There’s not much opportunity for riding horses where I come from.”

“That’s Croatia, right?”

“Yes.”

Thomas sat back in his chair. Like all the other Childers, except Daisy, he wasn’t sure what to make of Luka. One day Daisy had suddenly up and married this man and the family had been wondering about him ever since. Of course, it was obvious that Daisy was very happy with him. They had five very active children to show for it. And Thomas had heard about Luka being able to convince William to see his doctor about those spells he’d been having lately. As far as Thomas was concerned, any man that could talk William into seeing a doctor was all right in his book.

Luka’s attention was distracted for a moment when Daisy walked by, chatting with Karen and Gretchen. She caught his eye and smiled at him, eyes twinkling a little. They had managed to find a few minutes to be alone together that evening, before everyone arrived for the fish fry, and he gave her a naughty wink. She blushed and continued walking with her cousins.

Thomas was talking, and Luka looked at him.

“Ya done real good there, son. I doubt Will’d even have listened to Katie, bein’ the stubborn old mule he’s always been.”

Luka smiled vaguely. He glanced over at his father-in-law, who was sitting amongst a group of his cousins, talking. Their eyes met for a moment, and William raised his glass of water in a toast. Luka smiled back and toasted him in return. Then they returned to their respective conversations, having formed a real friendship that day. Nothing more really needed to be said.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
~P.J. O'Rourke, "Parlaiment of Whores"

If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.
~Erma Bombeck

You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
~Stephen Wright