81: Thanksgiving Day

Artemus and Derek showed up at noon as promised and were greeted by the familiar smell of a turkey roasting in the oven as well as other delectable scents that wafted down the hall from the kitchen. They were escorted by Vorondur to the library where they found Zach, along with Valandur and Daeron sitting at the reading desk, which had been pulled around to face the door. Zach was sitting in one of the three comfortable chairs facing them. Next to each chair was a small table on which sat a carafe of water and a glass. Zach looked up as they entered and smiled, waving a marker.

"Hey! You need to sign my cast," he said by way of greeting and the two men grinned as they approached. Derek grabbed the marker and, finding some free white space, wrote his name then handed the marker to Artemus who hesitated over which name to use and at the last minute chose Elurín, carefully writing it in tengwar script. Zach looked down at the signature. "Cool!" he said as he accepted the marker back, stowing it in his pocket.

"I will leave you then," Vorondur said and, giving the two other Elves a brief bow, left, closing the door behind him.

"Shall we get started?" Daeron asked and Artemus and Derek took their seats. Artemus noted that neither Elf had any writing material before them with which to take notes, which he found rather strange, but then he realized that no note-taking was needed for there was a digital voice recorder sitting before Daeron. As if he had read Artemus’ mind, Daeron spoke again. "We will record this session and then Serindë has agreed to act as a transcriber. We will create a file for each of you. Tomorrow afternoon, the transcriptions will be available for review. At that time you may make any additions or corrections you feel necessary. Then you will sign your depositions. Copies will be made for the two of us and for Finrod and anyone else he deems should have one."

"What exactly will happen tomorrow?" Derek asked, looking a bit anxious.

"Each of you will be called before us and Finrod," Valandur said. "We will ask you some questions, give you the opportunity to give your side of the story. As you are speaking, Finrod will be reading your deposition. He will not have seen it before then. It is fine if small details are not the same between the deposition and what you say, but any major divergence from what you tell us today will be questioned and questioned hard. However, I would not worry about it. If you are truthful with us, you will be truthful with Finrod.

"Now, Alex, and yes, I will continue calling you by that name, why don’t we begin with you as I believe your statement will be much longer than Derek’s or Zach’s. If you would begin by stating your full name and occupation, then tell us about your relationship with the person you knew as Ambrose Elwood and then continue with the events that followed once you came here. We may stop you to clarify one or two points if we need to but otherwise, we will not interrupt."

Artemus nodded, took a deep breath and when he saw Daeron press the record button, began speaking, "I am Artemus Gordon Meriwether, who is known also as Alex Grant. I am an intelligence officer for an agency with ties to Homeland Security and the CIA. I first met Ambrose Elwood fifteen years ago. He was my primary instructor and...."

****

The telling was indeed long for Valandur kept interrupting. He admitted candidly that he was having trouble understanding some of the things the Mortal was saying, for he had no background with which to compare it. Finally, though, Artemus came to the end with the events around the ‘shoot-out at Santa’s Grotto’ as Derek was calling it, taking a long drink of water and sitting back, feeling very wrung out. Both Elves gave him sympathetic smiles and thanked him for his cooperation.

"And now, Derek, why don’t we hear from you," Daeron said. He opened a new file and labeled it. "Please state your name and occupation or, in your case, former occupation, then tell us how you came to be at the Academy. Then describe the events of last Monday. Speak only of what you know, not what you surmise."

Derek nodded, then took a deep breath as Daeron pressed the record button. "My name is Derek Andrew Lowell. I’m from Oakland, California and until recently I was in the Navy. I worked in Naval Intelligence and...."

Derek continued with his story. There were fewer interruptions and he told it quickly, yet leaving no detail out. "...and then I came to to find Ron... er... I mean, Vorondur, standing over me with his hand over my mouth. He helped me up and led me down this tunnel and then I was outside where Prince Legolas was waiting for us. After that, I sort of just sat out on all the fun, though I could hear gunshots and voices. However I couldn’t hear what was being said. Eventually, we were taken out to the road by one of the police where Zach, Finrod and I were airlifted to St. Luke’s hospital."

"Thank you, Derek," Daeron said when Derek indicated he was done speaking. "We appreciate the fact that having to tell your story again so soon after making your statement to the police has to be traumatic for you and for Zach."

"It gets easier with the telling," Derek said softly and Artemus leaned over and gave his arm a friendly squeeze.

Then it was Zach’s turn. His statement was even shorter, for he had been in a state of semi-unconsciousness for a good portion of the time. In fact, Artemus and Derek had to supply some of the answers to the Elves’ questions concerning what Farrell had asked Zach while he was drugged, for the young Man had no real memory. He stared at them in disbelief. "I sang?"

Both Artemus and Derek grinned. "Like a little birdie," Derek said. "That is, if birds sing Gregorian chants."

Zach moaned and closed his eyes in embarrassment. Daeron looked amused but Valandur appeared confused until Daeron leaned over and whispered something in his ear. His expression cleared. "Ah, yes. I see. So what else do you recall of your captivity, Zach?"

So Zach continued as best as he could remember, which was little enough until they came to the grotto. By then most of the drug had left his system and he was more aware of his surroundings. "They broke my arm and I fainted," he said at the end. "Then the next thing I knew I was outside and there was Derek and Prince Legolas who was splinting my arm. After that it was pretty much as Derek described."

The two Elves nodded. "We won’t bother having you repeat what Derek said, though I will ask Serindë to add that part to your deposition, if you have no objections." Zach shook his head. "Then I thank you, all of you, for taking the time to speak to us. We will have copies of your statements available by two o’clock tomorrow, if you want to come back here to look them over and sign them."

All three Mortals nodded their understanding. Daeron glanced at his watch. "Well, dinner won’t be for another hour or so. Why don’t you go up to the sunroom and relax until then?"

"Shouldn’t we help?" Derek asked.

"There are too many hands helping as it is," Daeron said with a smile. "Go up to the sunroom where you’ll be out of the way. It’s far more pleasant there anyway. Valandur and I will be busy going over the files with Serindë in the meantime."

Artemus stood. "C’mon, gwedyr, let’s go. Can we get coffee or something while we’re hiding in the sunroom?" he asked Daeron.

"I’ll have Ron bring something up to you," he said and the three Men left.

"Why do I have the feeling we’re about to be set up?" Derek groused as the three made their way up the stairs and down the hall to the sunroom, which was indeed bright and cheerful with the late afternoon sun shining and the snow sparkling. They sat and gazed out to the back garden and the field beyond, enjoying the view.

"Hey, look!" Zach exclaimed, pointing, and the other two gasped in amazement as several elk came bounding across the field to disappear into the woods bordering it.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I saw Alfa talking to an elk in the back garden?" Artemus said. The other two shook their heads. "Well, this was when I was staying here after what happened at the tarn and...."

As he told his story, for a few minutes, he ceased to be Artemus and was once again Alex and found himself relaxing as the tension he’d been feeling all week melted away. For a few minutes he was no longer the intelligence officer but simply ‘Alex’ enjoying the company of his two friends.

Even as he was finishing the story, Vorondur entered bearing a tray with coffee mugs and a thermos. He placed the tray down on a side table. "Help yourselves," he said and the three Men got up. Derek poured for Zach, who thanked him. "So, how did the session go with Valandur and Daeron?" the Elf asked.

Artemus shrugged. "Okay. It was almost like being debriefed after one of my assignments."

"Derek and Zach? How about you?" Vorondur asked as they all found seats again.

"Well, I wish I could’ve told them more, but I was so out of it most of the time, I only know what happened from hearing Alex and Derek talking," Zach said. He lifted his cast-covered arm. "About the only thing I really remember was that bastard breaking my arm."

"How do you feel about that?" Vorondur asked.

"Angry and... and scared."

"Why are you afraid?"

"Not sure why. I keep dreaming of the guy who did this to me escaping from jail and hunting me down to finish the job he started."

Silence hung heavily between them all and Artemus grimaced. It was bad enough when he’d been tortured. At least he was trained for it, but for someone like Zach or Derek to suffer so.... He took a sip of coffee as a way of forcing himself not to speak. This was Vorondur’s session, though only he knew that; Derek and Zach hopefully would never realize what was really going on.

Vorondur didn’t address Zach’s statement but turned to Derek. "How are you sleeping?"

"Not well," Derek answered. "I don’t think I’m having any nightmares, not like the kind Zach just described, but I feel... I don’t know... uneasy. I don’t want to close my eyes. If I close my eyes something bad will happen, but of course eventually I do and when I wake up, I’m in a panic for a few seconds until I realize I’m safe and not in that grotto all tied up."

"Are you still resorting to sleeping pills?" Vorondur asked.

Derek shook his head. "No. Oh, I would like to take them, but they’re too addicting. I’ll get over this; it’ll just take some time. Not really having anything to do now that I’ve done my test tour gives me too much time for thinking and I spend a lot of time going over everything that happened, wondering if I couldn’t have done something different. Useless, I know. It happened and I have to live with it."

"But you don’t have to suffer alone, either of you," Vorondur said, including Zach in his words. "Do not hesitate to come to me or one of the others whenever you feel a need to talk or just to have someone hold your hand. There’s no shame in that. We all cope in our own ways, but having friends around can only help. Now, tomorrow night is going to be very emotionally draining for us all. Derek and Zach, with your permission, I will ask Dan and Roy to stop by your places tonight and help you to sleep. You need to be fully rested for the ordeal that’s coming."

"Fine with me," Derek said and Zach nodded as well.

"Good. Now, enjoy your coffee and the view, which is rapidly fading with the sun. We’ll be eating as soon as Amroth and the ellith arrive. They should be here within the hour. Someone will call." With that, Vorondur got up and left.

For a long moment, no one spoke, each lost in his own thoughts as they watched the sun setting and the sky darkening, drinking their coffee. Finally, Artemus put down his now empty mug and stood. "I hate just waiting," he said. "Let’s take the tray down and see how much of a nuisance we can be."

The other two grinned and they made their way downstairs just in time to see the front door opening and Amroth was there, ushering in Nimrodel while Mithrellas and Alphwen brought in their luggage. There were glad greetings all around as others came to the front of the house, drawn by the sound of excited voices.

"How was the trip?" Glorfindel asked Amroth, shaking his hand and giving Nimrodel a kiss.

"Long," Amroth replied with a weary sigh.

"Well, as usual, you have impeccable timing, as we’re just about ready to sit down to dinner. Why don’t you four go clean up and we’ll eat as soon as you’re back."

Cennanion and Gilvegil offered to help with the bags while everyone else made their way to the back of the house. Since there were too many people to seat at the dining table, the dinner was set up as a buffet, though one of the turkeys that had been cooked was placed on the table at one end where Glorfindel would do the honors of carving it. Artemus saw Finrod, looking less pale, sitting at the other end while his son and others hovered over him. Others were bringing dishes in from the kitchen and placing them on the buffet where warming pans had been set up. There was much excitement, especially among the Valinórean Elves who were witnessing their first American Thanksgiving, softly commenting among themselves as they watched the variety of dishes being brought in.

A few minutes later Amroth, Nimrodel, Mithrellas and Alphwen joined them.

"Good," Glorfindel said. "Now we can begin. Everyone gather around."

They did so. Artemus, Derek and Zach found spots near Glorfindel. "It’s been a tradition among us to take a few moments to speak of something in our lives during the past year for which we are grateful. With so many of us here, I don’t want the meal to go cold, so let’s keep our statements brief."

There were murmurs of assent. "Then, I’ll begin," Glorfindel said. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "I think what I am most grateful for is that, in spite of everything that’s happened recently, Elf Academy is still up and running and that we have friends unlooked for who are here to help us keep it that way." He smiled down the table at Finrod, who returned his smile with one of his own. "What about you, Finrod? For what are you grateful?"

"That I am at last reunited with my gwador," the Elf prince said simply yet sincerely, "and that I am still alive to give him grief."

Glorfindel made a face at Finrod, who returned the favor, and there was chuckling all around at their antics. Then, one by one, each of the Elves mentioned one thing for which they were grateful. For some, it was having the chance to be in Middle-earth again, for others, it was something more personal. As they went around the room speaking, Artemus began to feel more and more uncomfortable, not really sure what he would say. For what did he have to be grateful? His whole life had been turned upside down and he no longer knew who he really was or where he was going. Then, he thought of his mom and wondered suddenly how she was spending this day, trying to remember the last time he’d spent Thanksgiving with her and failing.

The sense of homesickness and loss suddenly overwhelmed him and he had to get away. He turned around, ignoring the concerned looks on Derek’s and Glorfindel’s faces, and squeezed past people, quietly apologizing. No one stopped him, for which he was grateful. Finally, he reached the hallway and took a deep breath before heading for the library where he would have some privacy.

Pulling out his cell phone, he speed-dialed a number. For several seconds there was nothing but the sound of ringing and he feared his mother was not home, but just as he was about to hang up, he heard her voice on the other end.

"Mom? It’s me... Gordy," he said, using his childhood name. He felt tears running down his cheeks. "Oh, I just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.... No. I’m with friends. We’re just about to sit down to eat. How was your Thanksgiving?.... Oh, that’s good. I was afraid you’d be alone today. Did you have a nice time at Uncle Frank’s?.... I’m glad.... No. I’m okay. I think I’ve got a slight cold.... No. I’m taking care of myself, I promise.... I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. Maybe I can be home for Christmas. I even have your Christmas present already.... Yeah, that’s me, Mr. Efficient.... What? Oh, okay. I forgot it’s late for you there.... I love you, too, mom.... Bye."

He shut down his phone, sniffling but not bothering to wipe away the tears that were still flowing. He started when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Vorondur there, giving him a concerned look. Elrohir was also there, standing by the door.

"My mom," he said by way of explanation. "She... she spent the day with Uncle Frank and Aunt Nancy and their kids. I’m glad she wasn’t alone. She’s always alone, since I’m never there anymore. I don’t even remember the last time I was home for Thanksgiving or Christmas or even for her birthday." He was crying openly now and Vorondur reached down and pulled him up into an embrace, holding him, but saying nothing while he got himself under control. It took him a few minutes before the tears stopped and he pushed himself away, wiping his face with the back of his hands.

"Sorry. I didn’t mean to...."

"There’s no need to apologize, Alex," Vorondur said. "Thanksgiving is a time for family and it’s natural to miss your mother when you are so far away, but you have family here, or have you forgotten?" He gestured to Elrohir, who came to them, patting Artemus on the shoulder.

"Why don’t you come and eat, Nephew?" he said. "You don’t want to miss out on this feast."

Artemus sighed. "I still can’t get used to the idea of you being my uncle when you look younger than I do."

Elrohir grinned. "Then, why don’t you just look upon me and Dan as kin, as cousins, which we are in a way, since you are a descendant of our father’s brother. That may make it easier for you."

Artemus nodded. "I guess. I... I really don’t think I can eat, though. Maybe I’ll just go back to the Academy. Can someone give Derek a ride back later?"

"No," Vorondur said firmly. "That’s the easy way out. Come and have dinner with us and stay for the entertainment afterwards. I think you need to be around people, around those who are your friends and more than friends, people who have only your best interest at heart."

"I guess," Artemus said, sighing, as Vorondur and Elrohir took him by the elbows and steered him down the hall. No one paid any attention to them as they got into the back of the buffet line. Derek, who was already balancing an overloaded plate, came over to them.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I just needed some time alone. Called my mom to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving."

"Yeah. I called my dad earlier. He’s spending the day fishing." He gave a shrug when Artemus raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Never said my dad was the conventional type."

Artemus grinned. "Neither is my mom. Maybe we should introduce them to one another."

Derek’s only response was a whispered swear word in Sindarin. Artemus laughed along with those around them who had heard the conversation and suddenly he felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders as he traded insults with his gwador while piling up his own plate with Thanksgiving goodies.