Little Lost Leon: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Wayne was quite pleased with arriving back home from his much needed supply run with plenty of daylight to spare.  For his eyesight certainly was not what is used to be, and it had become quite poor in low-light conditions.  This made it all the more difficult to do much of anything outside after the sun went down, and it was especially hard on him when supplies needed to be unloaded from the wagon and put up in the storehouse.

Since Wayne did not want to leave the horses hitched any longer than absolutely necessary, he drove the wagon straight to the storehouse without first going to see how Bonnie and Ruby were doing.  He made quick work of unloading the supplies and did not tarry with putting the horses up in the barn for the night.  He gave them an extra ration of oats each and left some apples for dessert as a reward for being so fleet afoot on the journey to and from Blue Valley that day.  It tickled Wayne to see them head straight for the apples first as he headed out of the barn toward the cabin.

Wayne was surprised to not see at least his beloved wife sitting on the front porch swing and waiting for him to snuggle a little bit before going inside.  Their days of taking it further had long past, but her efforts to keep the romance alive and doing very well were most endearing to Wayne.

All sorts of nightmarish scenarios were running amok in Wayne’s mind, but one very delightful thought came to his rescue.  For Bonnie had tormented him for years about her usually being so energetic was the result of her living right and him not so much.  Wayne always accused Bonnie of taking naps during the day, but he had failed to actually catch her snoozing away when she would insist that she had been working her tail off keeping their home clean and plenty of very good food on the table.  Wayne thought that this just might be the time he had been waiting so long for.

Wayne entered the cabin with all of the wide-eyed wonderment of a young child coming down the stairs early on Christmas morning to see what Santa might have brought during the night before, and he adopted a feigned look of outrage when he went into their bedroom.  Sure enough, he found his energetic wife lying on their bed, but before he bent over to wake her and gloat, his eye caught sight of something very different about the room.

Wayne had built a crib for Ruby’s baby, and it had been moved into their bedroom.  It was now right next to the bed on the other side, and Wayne had an overwhelming urge to go take a closer look.  Much to his astonishment, there lay a newborn baby boy staring up at him with a big smile on his tiny face.

Wayne did not have to check to see.  For he just knew that the baby was a boy.  He did not know how.  He just knew.

Oh, and those eyes.  The baby certainly had his mother’s piercing sapphire-blue eyes.  Wayne felt mesmerized while looking into them, but he snapped out of it long enough to ask him, “Where is your mother?”

The baby did not answer, of course.  Nonetheless, his big smile faded some.  He did not start to cry, but one could swear that he looked confused.

The baby was not the only one.  For Wayne found it most confusing that his normally responsible wife could lay down to take a nap while he was still away and a newborn baby being there already.

Being most willing to give his beloved wife the full benefit of his considerable doubts, Wayne conceded that the baby must not have been born yet when Bonnie went to lay down.  There was another involved to consider, though,

“Oh, but what about Ruby?  Could she really be so irresponsible as to leave her baby attended for more than a couple of minutes with him merely being a few hours old at most?”  Wayne kept entertaining such questions in his mind, but he had no answers to offer.

Wayne only thought he was confused before.  For when he went to wake up Bonnie, he discovered that she was not fast asleep at all.  She was dead.

Wayne instantly went into shock that was actually much closer to a catatonic state.  For he felt numb from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

He eventually managed to gingerly sit down on the edge of the bed beside his dearly departed wife, but then he just sat there staring out into space.  He could not look at his wife, nor over at the baby’s crib.  He just sat there staring out into space.

No, I do not mean that Wayne was staring at the ceiling as if he was staring out into space in search of God.  Wayne believed that He existed, but Wayne was not thinking of Him.  Wayne was not thinking of anyone, nor anything.  Wayne just sat there staring out into space.

Being like that was more merciful than what came next.  For it felt like he had been gutted with a dull knife, but Wayne's tears refused to fall.

Then Wayne felt angry, and much more so than he had ever felt before.  Wayne wanted to direct it at someone, but he did not know where to start.

Oh yes, he did.  For Wayne had already started blaming himself for going on that cursed supply run.  It was not enough, though.

No one was shielded from the eye of his wrath.  Wayne felt drunk.  Drunk with rage.  Wayne even considered blaming the baby.

Wayne sobered-up considerably when he heard the baby cooing, and it started making sense to him that the father of the baby must have discovered where Ruby was and paid her a visit while he was on the supply run.

“Yes,” Wayne said to himself, “He murdered my wife and took Ruby away with him, but what about his son?  Surely a father would want to take his son home with him even if the mother refused to go?”  It felt like the entire cabin was spinning, and Wayne's tears still refused to fall.

“Sleep.  I need to sleep on it all, but the baby must be hungry.”

Wayne was not sure he could stand up without immediately collapsing, but he made a valiant effort to make it over to the crib.  He was successful, and the baby lit up with another big smile when Wayne told him, “I will go see if I can find you some milk.”

Wayne soon found a small bottle of mother’s milk Ruby had obviously left behind for her baby, and he warmed it to the right temperature before taking the bottle to him.  It had been a long time since Wayne had did that for his own children, but there are some things one does not forget.

Wayne also remembered just how to hold a newborn to avoid choking, and he could not help but laugh when the baby let go with a loud belch.  It was then that Wayne’s tears decided to fall.

Wayne was afraid of his crying upsetting the baby, but the little man just keep on smiling and appearing to be looking intently into Wayne's eyes.  Wayne changed his diaper before laying him back down, and the baby immediately went fast asleep.

Wayne desperately wanted to join him in slumber, but he dared not in case something happened.  So, he decided to stay sitting on the edge of the bed between his wife and the drib while searching for some answers.  He hoped to have the strength to keep going until he could figure out what to do.

Wayne awoke with a start.  For he knew he was snuggled up to Bonnie on their bed, but she felt so cold.  Then it all came crashing down on Wayne, and the tears streamed down his face like his eyes were springs in a hillside.

Wayne wanted to cry out for help, but he did not know who could come to his emotional rescue?  More to the point, he did not know who would come?  For Wayne's children were hundreds of miles away, and he had made no effort to foster a close relationship with anyone much more nearby.

Ah, but he had to do something.  If not for his own sake, the baby deserved to have a better life than the one Wayne believed he could provide for him there.

A fairly large portion of Bonnie’s hair and the top of her peasant dress was soaked from his tears by the time Wayne removed his arms from around her and made it out of bed to check on the baby, who had not uttered a sound since Wayne awoke.  Wayne braced himself for finding him dead, but there the little man was with his big smile and piercing sapphire-blue eyes shining brightly.

Wayne started talking to him.  “I am afraid your mother will not be coming back soon.  What do you think about me calling you Leon until she tells me otherwise?  It is a name I equate with bravery and regal behavior.  You are certainly being brave, and this is regal enough for me and my kind.  What do you think?”

Leon did not offer an answer, but Wayne could swear that he understood every word he had spoken to him.  For he frowned a little when Wayne mentioned his missing mother, and then he lit right back up with that dazzling smile when asked about being called Leon.

Of course, Leon’s changes of facial expression could have been just because of a bowel movement.  Wayne decided to check on developments down under later on.

Wayne found another little bottle of mother’s milk that Ruby had left for Leon in the kitchen.  No, there was not another one, and Wayne hoped to find more where he had shown Ruby where they kept milk cold in the cave.

Leon sucked the milk bottle dry, and Wayne checked on his diaper.  It was getting full, but it was not bad to deal with.

I realize that I am probably spreading it on a little thick, but Leon’s poop really did not stink.  If anything, it had a fairly pleasant aroma, which Wayne attributed to Leon not eating any regular food yet.  At least not any he was aware of, and Wayne could not imagine Ruby trying to feed her baby even mashed up regular food right after he was newly born.  Besides, Wayne had not found any evidence of such anywhere inside of the cabin.

Wayne wanted to go check if there was more of Leon’s milk out in the cave, but he did not know what to do with the boy.  For Wayne did not think Leon would enjoy going out to the cave with him, but he did not want to leave him unattended.

Wayne finally decided to take Leon out with him to the cave, and Leon acted like he was just fine with that.  Well, at least Leon did not start fussing.

Nonetheless, Leon did start cooing on the way to the cave, and it lightened Wayne’s burden somewhat.  Not that the negligible actual weight of Leon factored in a bit, of course.  For Wayne did not think he weighed much more than five pounds.

Wayne’s burden shot right back up the scale when he did not find more of Leon’s milk out in the cave.  He had heard of a farmer fairly close who kept a herd of milk goats at his place, but what he had heard came with a warning about the farmer and his wife being even more serious about being recluses than Wayne and Bonnie had been.  Nonetheless, something had to be done, and done quickly.

“What do you think about going on a road trip with me, Leon?”  Wayne was halfway expecting Leon to answer, but all Wayne received was more of that dazzling smile of his.  It was more than enough for the old man, be assured.

Wayne still had his money pouch in his pocket.  So, he headed straight for the barn with Leon.

Oh my, talk about getting excited.  Leon started reaching out with his hands and waving his arms in a circular motion when one of the horses leaned down to take a sniff of him.

Leon squealed with delight when the horse pulled back a little and snorted.  Then the horse nickered softly and started prancing in place.  The other horse was paying very close attention to it all and nosed in to take his turn.

Wayne was as delighted with the show as Leon was.  It even made him forget for a second why he had to take this trip.  Just for a second, though.

It took several hours to get over to the goat farmer’s place, which looked very much like Wayne's own place.  It even had a large opening to a cave near the cabin, and Wayne wondered if it might be another entrance to the same cave.  For it was on the opposite side of the ridge, and there was a stream of crystal clear water flowing out from within.

It all made for a very pretty sight, but the view turned decidedly ugly when Wayne saw a man somewhat younger than himself staring at him from the front porch of the cabin.  For the man was holding a double-barreled shotgun, and Wayne could clearly see that he did not have a welcoming face.

Wayne would not have been normally intimidated.  For he had seen down the barrel of a shotgun a few times over the years and had came out of each encounter with no blood spilling onto the ground.  Although, he had Leon to worry about now.

Wayne looked down at Leon, and that dazzling smile stiffened his resolve.  No, he was not about to let anything bad happen to someone he had fell so madly in love with, and that certainly included going hungry!

Wayne had Leon wrapped in a blanket in a picnic basket.  Leon was so small in size, he really did look like a bug in a rug.  Well, at least he looked very snug.

The basket was one of the things Bonnie had brought with them when they made their move down south.  She just could not bear to leave it behind.  For her father had made it out of woven birch bark, and he gave it to them as a wedding gift.

Wayne had many very fond memories of the picnics he and Bonnie had went on with that basket, and he thought it would work well for Leon to ride in on the wagon.  He had put another blanket on the bottom of the basket to serve as extra padding, and with Leon wrapped in another blanket, it worked very well, indeed.  Hence, snug as a bug in a rug!

Wayne took a deep breath and continued driving his wagon closer to the cabin.  He stopped around fifty feet in front, and studied the goat farmer’s face for a minute or so without making any move to speak to him or get down off of the wagon.

Not only did the goat farmer not have a welcoming face, he had a menacing look in his eye, as well.  At least he had not raised his shotgun to fire.  So far, so good.

“Hello!  My name is Wayne, and I live on the other side of the ridge from you.  I heard that you tend to a herd of milk goats, and I would like to purchase some milk for Leon here.  His mother is missing, and he only two days old.”

The front door of the cabin flew open, and out came a woman Wayne assumed was the goat farmer’s wife.  She headed straight for Wayne’s wagon.

“You have a baby with you?  May I see him?”

“Yes, mam.  I have him in a picnic basket on the floorboard next to my feet.  Is it all right for me to climb down with him?”

The woman turned around and gave her husband a pleading look.  He nodded his head up and down in an affirmative motion, and Wayne proceeded to climb down off of the wagon with Leon still in the picnic basket.

The woman was beaming with delight as she looked down on Leon, and he was beaming right back at her.  Leon started cooing, and the woman turned back around toward her husband.

“William, may they come inside to wait while you go get a jug of the milk from one of the freshened does?”

William nodded his head up and down in an affirmative motion again and started walking toward the cave opening.  The woman turned her attention back on Leon.

“My name is Marie, and he is my husband, William.  He will have the milk you want in a few minutes.  Would you come inside and wait?”

“Leon and I do not want to put you out none, mam.  We will be just fine waiting here by the wagon.”

“Do not be silly.  It is no trouble at all, and it has been ages since I have been around a baby.”

Wayne followed her inside of their cabin, which was smaller than his.  It looked just as comfortable, though.

Marie soon had Leon squealing with delight, and Wayne was captivated by their interaction.  In fact, he was so enthralled, Wayne did notice William coming inside until he asked his wife a question.

“Would you mind, dear, if I took Wayne outside to ask him some things about his rig?”

Marie did not break her focus on Leon a bit, but she did shake her head from side to side to indicate that she did not mind.  William did not have to ask Wayne if he minded going outside with him.  For Wayne had already started standing up to leave before Marie answered.

The two men went outside and stood by Wayne’s team of horses.  William gently rubbed their noses, and then he began to speak.

“I want to thank you for bringing some joy into my poor wife’s life for a change.  Not that she has not been content, but it has been a very long time since I last heard her laugh and carry on like that.”

“Leon is certainly enjoying her company,” Wayne interjected.  “I was apprehensive about coming over here because of being told that you-all do not like people coming around, but I had to do something to keep Leon from going hungry.”

Wayne could clearly see the pain in William’s eyes before he lowered his head.  William’s shoulders slumped, and he began speaking again.

“No, we did not move up here because we do not like being around people.  We came up here in the hope of Marie never seeing that monster again.  His name was Manfred, and he sadistically raped my beloved wife before having his friends take turns having their way with her.  By the time they were finished, she could no longer have a child, and the physical damage was not nearly as severe as what they did to her mind, her sense of safety.  It was several years before she could sleep through the night and want to go outside again.  Although, she still has terrifying nightmares way too often.  Have you heard of Manfred?  Your team and wagon are from Shire, and he owned Shire.  Needless to say, he was a really big deal around these parts.  I heard that he is now dead, but I do not think the devil can ever really die.”

William’s voice trailed off at the end of his last statement.  It shook Wayne to the core of his being that he had put money in the coffers of such a monster.

“No, I have never heard of Manfred before, and I do not know anything about Shire, other than they supplied the barrels we used at the brewery I worked at up north.  My wife and I moved down here a few years back, and we were in need of a new team and wagon after making such a long journey.  We bought this rig from a man in Blue Valley, who had no need of such anymore and was selling it at a fair price, I thought.”

“Count it as a great blessing that you never had any direct dealings with Manfred.  For he was indeed evil incarnate.  I wish you had brought your wife along.  I think Marie would have really enjoyed her company, too.”

“I came home from a supply run to Blue Valley to find my wife, Bonnie, dead on our bed, Leon born and his mother gone.  That was yesterday evening, and I have felt like I have been trapped in a tornado since.  Oh, I have passed through the eye a few times and found a few moments of peace.  Watching your wife play with Leon was one of those times, and I am very grateful for them.  Nonetheless, the confusion and rage waits to buffet me terribly.  I do not know how much more I can withstand.”

Both men just stood there in silence.  As if on cue, a peal of lightning flashed just over the ridge toward Wayne’s place.  The following thunderclap was deafening.  In a hushed tone full of anguish, William began to speak again.

“Times like that sorely try a person’s soul.  I still believe in the existence of God, but I have come to seriously doubt that mankind was created to be the objects of His affection.  It seems much more likely now that we were created to be objects of His scorn, or at least many of us were.  I was the pastor of Holy Trinity Methodist Church in Whistling Pines, and Bonnie was the choir pianist and young children’s Sunday School teacher.  We were both most devout in our belief that God made this world perfect and we were created in His image to be perfect like He is perfect.  Hardships are the result of sin, and all justly deserve what they receive.  I now think that John Calvin was much closer to the absolute truth.  For he preached that what the Apostle Paul wrote was the literal truth about God creating some for glory and the rest for destruction to prove His power to an unbelieving world.  Maybe not, but I do not believe that Bonnie and I deserved the horror that befell us.  I suspect that you are equally undeserving of what you have been subjected to these past couple of days.”

“I was not raised with church as a part of my family.  I have never seen much use for such.  For I have always made it just fine without it.  Bonnie attended a Catholic church with her parents when she was a small child, but all of the pomp and circumstance soon lost its appeal when their rules came to bear on her.”  It was Wayne’s turn for his voice to trail off when he added, “We had such a happy life together.”

“What are you going to do next, Wayne?”

“I have not taken the time to think about it yet, William.  There were just too many critical concerns that required immediate attention.  I have had little time to just breathe—let alone make plans for the future.  I suppose Leon and I should take Bonnie back up north to be buried in the family plot, but I do not know what to do about her body now.”

“Well, one of Bonnie’s brothers owns the Whistling Pines Funeral Parlor, and he works closely with the sheriff of that county when needed.  That is, if you want the circumstances of her death investigated, of course.”

“No, William.  I just want that page turned and focus my attention on Leon.”

“He has always proven to be the epitome of discretion, and he has the legal authority to issue death certificates on his own.  He will not involve the sheriff unless it is wanted by the family of the deceased.  I can go with you to take her to his funeral parlor tomorrow—if you would like?”

“Yes, I would like that very much.  Thank you, William.  Since I do not know when she actually died, I should probably place her body outside of the house in the meantime.  I have not taken much stock in the tradition of sitting up with the dead, and I do not think it would be good for Leon to leave her in a warm room.  I have a large opening to a cave like you have.  In fact, I suspect that it is another opening to the same cave because it is on the opposite side of the ridge and has a stream of water running across farther inside.”

“Good, it is settled then.  You and Leon come by in the morning, and Leon can stay here with Marie until we get back.”

“I really do appreciate this, William.”

“After getting to hear my tormented wife laugh again, it is the least I could do.”

Wayne followed William back inside of their cabin and bid Marie a fond farewell until the next morning.  He stopped to let the horses take another sniff of Leon, who squealed with delight some more.  Then they proceeded back to their place to prepare Bonnie’s body to stay overnight in the cave.

Night had fallen by the time Wayne placed Bonnie’s body in the storehouse he had built inside of the cave.  As he was carrying Leon back to their cabin, Leon’s eyes grew wide at the sound of a screech owl cutting loose off in the distance.  Wayne managed a big smile for the first time since coming back from his supply run and discovering life as he had known it was over.

William and Marie had provided a gallon jug of goat’s milk with colostrum for Leon.  He sucked down two bottles before drifting off to sleep.

Wayne now took time to think about what his next moves should be.  He could not imagine ever being able to forgive himself for refraining from taking Bonnie back up north to be laid to rest surrounded by so very many of their departed friends and family, but Wayne was not at all sure of what to do next.  For what Wayne and Bonnie had kept from Ruby when they told her about their children was that the farewells their children had bid them on their departure were not necessarily fond.  In fact, they were downright acrimonious.  Their oldest child, Leslie, had even gone as far as to accuse them of abandoning their grandchildren, which was echoed by their youngest. Arlynda.

Leslie’s accusation was grossly unfair, which is actually an outrageous understatement.  If anything, it was a betrayal of the highest sort, and what made it so egregious was that Wayne and Bonnie considered Leslie to be their good girl because gf how well she had always conducted herself.  She was the one they could always count on to do the right thing.  That is, at least until the last few years before Wayne and Bonnie decided to make their move.

Arlynda was an entirely different story from the very start.  For she grew from being a very fussy baby to being a very fussy adult, who generally could not care less about what anyone felt or thought of her.  She was, however, a very lovely lass, and gentlemen suitors literally lined up to take their turn at winning her hand in marriage when she reached the proper age.

Arlynda settled on the richest of the lot, of course.  His name was Robert, and he was the grandson of the founder of the brewery Wayne had worked for his entire adult life.

Wayne blamed himself for the part he had played in Arlynda and Robert getting together.  For he had been asked by the owner of the brewery at the time to introduce Robert to Arlynda at a Christmas party being hosted by the brewery, and Wayne had readily agreed to.  For Wayne could not imagine either one being all that interested in the other, and neither could he imagine there being any chance whatsoever of a serious relationship developing.  For Robert was as flighty as his daughter.

The ill-fated marriage lasted long enough for Robert to father two children with Arlynda.  Then he took off bound for Europe in search of  greener pastures to frolic in and wilder women to frolic with.

That left Wayne and Bonnie to care for their children because Arlynda was not interested in actually being a mother.  As far as she was concerned, this was what servants were for, and it was not her fault that there was no more money left to pay servants.

Leslie was very supportive at first, but she gradually became more and more resentful of how much time Arlynda’s children were taking from the time Wayne and Bonnie could be spending with her own children.  After all, there were only four arms and two laps to go around.

No, there were not other sets of grandparents to take up the slack.  For Leslie’s husband and father of their two children, James, was an orphan at an early age, and Robert’s parents were too focused on climbing the social ladder to enter into politics to bother with being good grandparents.

The strain was taking quite a toll on Bonnie’s health, and it had been becoming more and more obvious to Wayne that it was time for them to stop just talking about making the move to what sounded like a paradise to them and actually move there before it was too late.  However, Bonnie kept objecting, but she did not have the strength to object for long.

They expected the proverbial stuff to hit the proverbial fan when they told their children, but they could not imagine being accused of abandonment.  Yep, it was time to get while the getting was good, as the people would say down where they were moving. 

Wayne hoped he would be welcomed back with open hearts and arms, but he was not sure if the bad blood would ever clear enough.  After all, he had raised his children to make a stand and live with the consequences—even if it comes to a bitter end.

Nonetheless, Wayne had gained some wisdom over the years, and he now realized that such stands were not worth the price they often demanded.  Losing his children and grandchildren forever was certainly not a price he wanted to pay.  So, if it took begging his children for forgiveness, so be it.

At least their son, Michael, had not openly sided with his sisters, but neither had he openly sided with their parents.  For Michael had just sat there with his head down and his mouth tightly shut.

Michael still seemed like the best one to reach out to, and Wayne wrote a letter to him explaining what had happened to his mother, along with as much as he knew about Ruby and Leon.  He would mail it the next day while in Whistling Pines with William.  At least that would inform his children of him coming back to bury their mother.

Wayne was back over with Leon to William and Marie’s place around mid-morning.  He had Bonnie wrapped in a shroud of sorts in the bed of the wagon.

William was out on the front porch ready to head into Whistling Pines as soon as Leon was brought inside the cabin to spend the day with Marie.  Leon had agreed to this arrangement in his own special way, and Marie was certainly not opposed to it.

If Wayne had been cut from a more cynical cloth, he could have easily become paranoid over Marie wanting to keep Leon for her own child.  After all, the proverbial dots seemed to connect, but such a thought never entered his mind.  There were no dots to connect as far as William and Marie were concerned, for that matter.

William went inside the funeral parlor and came out a few minutes later to direct Wayne to drive his wagon around to the back.  The undertaker came out to load Bonnie onto a rolling table and ask Wayne if he had any special requests.  Wayne told him that he planned to bury Bonnie up north, which would probably take three or four days to get there by train, considering having to change trains at least once.  The undertaker told Wayne that it would not have her body ready for transport until the next Monday because he had several already in line ahead, and Wayne told him that this would be just fine.

William showed Wayne where the post office was so he could mail his letter to Michael.  Since the next Monday was three days off, William thought the letter should easily make it to where Wayne was headed before he arrived.  Wayne thought this would give his children time to head for the hills to avoid being around him if they were still angry, but he sure hoped they were not.

Wayne and William could hear Leon squealing with delight a good twenty feet from the cabin.  William wondered out-loud what Leon was doing to his wife, and Wayne let out a big laugh.

William went out to bring back a jug of milk from their cave so that Leon would have enough to last until coming back through on their way into Whistling Pines to board the train for their trip up north.  Since they would actually catch a passenger liner with a dining car in Richmond, there would be ice to keep Leon’s milk from curdling, and William would have another jug ready for the trip.

Wayne had already offered for William and Marie to have his team of horses and the wagon in exchange for the milk and them keeping an eye on his place while he was gone.  William had tried to argue that he would be his pleasure to do all of that for free, but Wayne argued right back that his team and wagon needed to have a good new home instead taking them with him up north.  William reluctantly agreed, and Marie gave him a big hug before insisting that he and Leon stay for supper.  Wayne said that it just would not be right to insist on heading home immediately after a hug like that.

Wayne spent the next two days getting his place ready for him to be away for a while.  He was not sure if he would ever make it back, but he hoped that at least one of his children would want the place someday.  If anything, it should fetch a fair price for them if they decided to sell it.

The wild and wooly frontier days were long past.  So, there was not much likelihood of someone else trying to stake a legal claim to the place, but it made Wayne feel good that William would be around from time to time to keep someone from taking up residence without permission to.

Leon was a picture of wide-eyed wonder the entire train ride up north.  When they arrived at their destination, it was Wayne’s turn to be wide-eyed with wonder.

“Do you see those people standing on the platform over there, Leon?  They are your new family wanting to meet you.”