Mahalia nodded. “I’ll buy that. Gideon will let you stay as long as you like. And then you can mother that sweet Deloy.”
I grinned. “That’s part of the plan.” My phone buzzed. The number looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “Hello?”
“Oaklyn, this is Levon. Listen, I need your help.”
I was always flattered to be needed. “Yes?”
“I’m with my Nana inside the gates of Cornucopia. She’s extremely ill with diabetes, and she says she can’t feel her feet. Also, she’s got heart palpitations.”
“Is her heart racing?”
“No, just skipped beats. Beats all over the place. Boom-boom. Boom. Boom de be boom.”
“No chest pain?”
“No. But listen. I managed to avoid my mother and all my siblings and went straight to Nana’s house after I finished some business here. Her husband died awhile back so I’m dealing with a bunch of her sister-wives who are all telling me not to take her out of here.”
“She needs to see a doctor.”
“I know. And all I’ve got is this giant panel truck I made the delivery with. Listen. Can you come with your cage and take her to the doctor you know?”
Again, I was hugely flattered to be so needed. It gave me a sense of purpose here. “But how’m I going to get through the gates?”
“Use the same password I did. Allred Lee Chiles.”
I giggled. “I hardly look like an old, twisted male prophet.”
“Trust me. It’ll work. Then call me, and I’ll talk you through how to get here. It’s not on any GPS.”
“I figured. All right, Levon. I’m going right now.” I knew where the main gates were. Everyone did. It was impossible to miss.
While I was talking, Deloy sat down next to Mahalia. It was always good to see his cheerful face, his long, spiky buzz cut that looked like a scrub brush. I was always dying to pet it. “Oaklyn. I’m going up to Bountiful to get some things for Levon. Do you want me to stop by your house and get anything?”
I smirked. “The only thing you’ll see there is a lazy dead ass lounging around in sweats making plans to go party.”
The smile vanished from Deloy’s mouth. “Guy troubles, huh?”
“Yeah,” Mahalia and I sighed in unison.
I said, “Speaking of guy troubles. That was Levon, and he wants me to meet him inside Cornucopia. He wants me to take his Nana to see Dr. Lee at Urgent Care.”
Now Mahalia and Deloy gasped in unison. Deloy said, “Going inside the walls? I haven’t been there since they kicked me out. I proved their premonitions right when I walked the street as a whore, selling my body to dirty Gentiles, damned until the end of time.”
I really didn’t want to go inside the walls, but I was bound and determined to help Levon, so I stood. Deloy stood too, coming around to my side of the table. He took me by the elbows, finally allowing me an excuse to touch that brushy head. It was as soft as a bunny rabbit.
“Listen, Oaklyn. Don’t let anyone get to you inside there. Just go in, do your job, and get the hell out. Maybe you never have to take his Nana back there.”
Mahalia said, “There’s a good retirement home on the way to St. George. Independent living as well as assisted living. I put another elderly woman from Cornucopia in there. They all get a bundle of welfare money, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”
Deloy’s eyes were wide with sincerity. He looked like one of those paintings of the kids with the big eyes. “I was told I was the least in my family, that I was but a lad and all the people loathed me. I was an idiot, slow of speech and tongue. The world hated me and I’d find no comfort anywhere. Well, I have found comfort, Oaklyn. Comfort first with Levon in Bountiful, and now with all of you. I feel like I’ve come home. I have no need to go back inside those gates and confront people anyway. My deal is done. That’s like a past life, dead and buried. Just get that poor woman out and get the hell out of there.”
I was almost brought to tears by Deloy’s heartfelt speech. We even hugged, and I felt a strange surge of what can only be called love rush through my chest. Deloy’s age made him more like a younger brother and no replacement for the child I dearly wanted. But he’d have to do for now.