Creative Commons – The Plainsrunner – Chapter Twenty-Four

Continuing the serial release of The Plainsrunner under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license – (CC-BY-SA).

Tallgrass gets to run on the grass.

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Chapter Twenty-Four – Tallgrass

Sage and Professor Tailor were watching Tallgrass romp on the grass. He was running full tilt from one end of the rectangle to the other, his little body stretching, and his face lit by an ecstatic grin. Also watching were two members of the custodial staff, the same two who had brought Sage’s chest of drawers six years earlier. They’d come out of their office down at the end and were standing with their arms crossed, but with indulgent smiles.

Tallgrass had a special dispensation to be on the grass, even though he was not a professor or anyone else important enough to be allowed. Part of the reason was who his mother was, and part was the Professor’s influence, but mostly it was because he was so cute and so full of life that people just loved to see him enjoying himself. Not everyone. There were some who thought a Plainsrunner’s offspring had no business inside the gates, much less on the grass, but they were outvoted. Besides, as the maintenance staff said, he was too small and too light to do any real damage. Not yet, anyway. Sage smiled as she remembered him coming off the grass one day when it was time to go. He was panting and bursting with energy when he said, “I hope I stay small forever.”

The Professor’s eyes followed the boy as he said, “He’s growing up quickly, isn’t he? It seems like no time at all since you first arrived.”

“Yes,” said Sage, “and no.” When he raised his eyebrows at her she said, “So much has happened that it feels like it must be longer, and yet the time has flown by.”

“Yes,” said the Professor. “You have had a very full few years, haven’t you? From country girl to celebrity astronomer.”

She frowned at him. “Celebrity astronomer,” she muttered.

“Well, that’s what they’re calling you. I saw it on the news this morning. They called you author, screenwriter, celebrity astronomer and day flier killer.” He smiled at her frown.

“Oh, my ancestors,” she said. “Will I never live that down?”

“I don’t know why you would want to,” he said. “Your fame is what has allowed you to do the things you want to do.”

She nodded, grudgingly acknowledging that. “To think,” she said, “that all I wanted to do when I first came here was to learn. And it’s been a constant torrent of learning ever since.”

He nodded. “I remember that girl. I thought I was going to buy the artifact from you, and that would be it, but you ended up taking over completely.”

“That’s not how I remember it,” she said. “I remember it as running as fast as I could just to survive. I grabbed every advantage I could because I needed every one I could get.” She looked at him. “I’m sorry if it seemed as if I was using you.”

Tallgrass went tearing by in the other direction, grinning at them as he passed. They waved at him and the Professor said, “Not at all. This has been the best time of my life. My career has never been so fulfilling.”

“It’s been the same for me,” said Sage. “I’ve gone from being a hopeless exile to, well, a celebrity astronomer.” They laughed together, then she said, “I wanted to learn, but the amount and the pace of learning almost overwhelmed me.”

“Well,” he said, “your life completely changed. You had to re-learn almost everything.”

“Yes,” she said. “Up on the prairie we had no electricity. We walked everywhere we went. Messages had to be carried from village to village. The traders were one of our main means of communication, but they never told us about any of your new technology.”

“No,” he said. “They knew it was taboo for you people. They never took so much as a flashlight with them.”

“Right,” she said. “Then I come here and I learn about electricity and flashlights. Then about wagons that pull themselves.” She widened her eyes at him. “Then the ships that sail out on the ocean. And airplanes. Airplanes that are much bigger than day fliers and that fly much higher even than them.”

He nodded. “It must have completely overturned everything you thought you knew about the world.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “But it never overwhelmed you. You took it in and you adjusted, and you came out stronger for the new knowledge.”

“I’m glad it looked that way, but the truth is I felt like I was faking it most of the time.”

He chuckled. “If that’s true then you’re a champion faker. You had me fooled, and you’ve certainly impressed a lot of people in the process.”

“Then people are easily impressed,” she said. “Celebrity astronomer, indeed.” Quietly, she added, “The thing that almost sent me running was radio. I grew up thinking it was the ultimate evil, and when I learned that you city people were using it …”

Tallgrass went by the other way, but he was slowing down and his grin was a little more labored. They waved and the Professor said, “What made you stay?”

She thought about it as they watched the little runner, then said, “A combination of things. I had nowhere to go. I’d been discovering that our myths and legends were a little simplistic when faced with the reality. And I really wanted to learn. Especially about the gliders.”

“And you liked being a celebrity astronomer?”

“You be quiet,” she said. “I was nowhere near that when I learned about radio.”

They smiled together as they watched Tallgrass trotting back to them. In a quiet voice, he ventured, “Are you never going to tell me who the father is?”

Still looking at her son, she said, “I think you know who his father is, Professor.”

“Do you mean …” he stammered. “Am I the one?”

She looked sideways at him and nodded.

“But why didn’t you say? I should have known. I could have … done something. I could have helped.”

Tallgrass was close then and she only had time to say, “I didn’t need any help,” before he was there, basking in their praise and their love.

They saw the groundskeepers walk out to inspect the grass, paying close attention to where Tallgrass had made his turns. The boy’s eyes were wide with anxiety during the inspection, and when they waved and gave the high sign he capered in a circle of joy. He’d be allowed to play on the grass at least one more time.

The Professor took the opportunity to say, “I know you didn’t need me Sage, but I would have liked to have helped anyway.”

“I know,” she said, “but it was something I had to …”

They were interrupted by sound and motion at the gate on the opposite side of the grass. Tallgrass looked and called out, “Uncle Digger,” and began running. He slowed down when he saw that there was someone with him, but when Digger called his name and held out his arms, he sped up again.

While they watched the reunion, the Professor said, “Who is that with him?”

“I don’t know,” said Sage, “but something about him seems familiar.”

They watched as the pair walked down, then across the end, and then back up their side, Tallgrass repeatedly trotting ahead and back to them. When they finally got close enough, Sage gasped and said, “Street?”

Digger called out, “Look who I’ve brought to see you, Sage.”

When they got there Sage gave Digger a hug, then offered her hand to Street. “It’s nice to see you again, Street. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Digger said, “He was asking after you. We usually get together when he gets back from a trading expedition, and he wanted to know how you were doing. So I told him to come and find out for himself.”

She turned to Street and asked, “And why did it take you so long to get around to it?”

His handsome face was abashed and he turned his eyes to the ground. “You didn’t look like you needed me horning in. You were doing fine and I didn’t want to spoil it for you.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I looked up to you,” she said sternly. “I used your strength and bravery as an example to get me through the hard times.” She was frowning at him when the Professor discreetly cleared his throat. “Oh yes,” she said. “Where are my manners? Professor, this is Street. You might remember me talking about him. Street, this is Professor Tailor. We work together. And you’ve already met my son, Tallgrass.”

They shook hands and the Professor said, “You needn’t have worried about Sage. I don’t believe you could have spoiled it for her if you tried.”

Digger laughed out loud and Street smiled, remembering the girl he met by the sentinel tree. His smile broadened when he recalled how she talked to Tiny. “No, I think you’re right, Professor,” he said. “I guess I should have known, eh? After all, I did meet her that once.”

All three men laughed, while Sage frowned. Tallgrass looked anxiously back and forth, then he began to frown too. He had no idea what was going on, but it looked as if his mother didn’t like it, and if she didn’t like it, then neither did he. He was getting set to do something when Sage noticed.

“It’s okay, Tally,” she said. “It’s friendly laughter.”

Tallgrass looked at the Professor, who nodded and smiled. He looked at Digger, who did the same. Street tried to look harmless and sincere when he looked at him. Street said, “It’s true, son. We all think your mother’s the greatest.”

Tallgrass continued frowning at him. “Then why were you laughing at her?” he asked.

“We weren’t,” said Street. “Well, we were, but it wasn’t to be mean. It’s because we all know how great she is.” He looked around for help.

Digger and the Professor chose to stay out of it, so Sage said, “Sometimes friends tease each other, but it’s all in fun. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you.”

Tallgrass thought about that, then said, “Then why did you look unhappy?”

“Well …”

The Professor grasped the baton. “Even though it’s done in fun, nobody likes to be the one singled out.” He patted Tallgrass’s neck, and his stomach lurched when he realized he was touching his son. “It was good of you to stick up for her, Tallgrass. That’s what we do for people we care about.” He smiled at Sage and the two men. “If you hadn’t, though, I don’t think it would have been long before she stuck up for herself.”

Tallgrass looked at Sage, and she said, “That’s right. I was just going to let them have it when you saved me the trouble. Thanks.” She grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

He frowned a little longer, then grinned. He said, “You’d have really let them have it, wouldn’t you Mom?”

“Darn rights,” she said. “They wouldn’t have known what hit them.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking at the men. “You wouldn’t have known what hit you.”

Street threw his hands up. “I’m just glad you stepped in when you did,” he said.

Digger and the Professor nodded, and Tallgrass said, “Yeah!” Then he took off and ran a big circle on the grass. They watched him for a moment, the Professor with especially soft eyes.

Sage turned to Street. “So, how is everybody? My mother and father?”

“Your village is doing fine,” he said. “They were happy when I told them we saw you. Well, most of them, anyway. I think they were mostly glad to hear that you survived.”

“I see,” she said, surprised. She had thought they hated her. “My father?”

“Yes, I had a good long talk with him. He was really happy and relieved to hear you were all right. And I’ve been back there once since, so I was able to tell him how well you’re doing here.” His eyes flicked away and back. “He and your mother are separated. I guess they couldn’t keep it together after …”

She was surprised that this news didn’t surprise her. “Did you see Tallgrass?”

“Yes,” he said. “The first time, he came and asked if we’d seen you. He obviously really cares for you, Sage.”

“And the second time?”

He hesitated, then said, “He’s with someone.”

“Who?”

“You wouldn’t know her. She’s from the tallgrass prairie, over by the mountains. Like his own grandmother.”

“Are they happy?”

“I think so. They have a daughter, not much younger than your Tallgrass.”

“That’s good,” she said. “I’m glad he’s happy.” She was wearing a wistful smile as she watched her own Tallgrass trotting back to them.