Chapter 1 - For Love of Teddy

FOR LOVE OF TEDDY





PROLOGUE

In the dawning of the nineteenth century, more than twenty years before the Santa Fe Trail was formed and forty years before New Mexico became a territory of the United States, no other being -- not the soaring hawk above, or the panfish and trout jumping from their stream, or the pheasants and elk hidden among the evergreens, or even the Apaches quietly hunting in the eastern foothills of the forested mountains -- saw the two small children toss apples to the mustangs. Had any human witnessed the children's gifts, would the legend have grown?
As happened among pioneer families ranching on small pieces of land, growing what food they could, maybe planting apple trees for which mountains might be named, isolated far from doctors or medicine, the parents could not combat the illness that took away their precious children. The story went that, although the herd of horses remained wild and never allowed any kind of contact with humans, when the children came down with a fatal illness and died, two of the horses came down from the herd to the ranch. From that time on, so the legend went, the two horses remained near the ranch. The Native Americans believed that the spirits of the children had gone to rest in the two paint horses and they deserted their herd to remain close to the family. Apache neighbors spread the tale of the children's spirits guarding their family. Visiting Spanish soldiers dubbed the small ranch "Dos Pintos," where apples, a legend, and a town were to grow.



















CHAPTER 1

Over two hundred years the town of Dos Pintos, New Mexico, slowly emerged from the scrub trees and rocks at the base of the Manzano Mountains, its old hotel and the new motel offering a last night of comfort for climbers, campers, and fishermen bent on imitating the area's first settlers by living a few days "in the rough." With the warmer months and tourists gone, the good people of the town tried hard to focus on supporting the high school sports. They tried, and tried, and tried, and finally the school grew to housing enough students where the teams just might compete well enough not to embarrass everyone. And then a miracle happened: the football team beat every opponent they met.
* * *
From their large, fenced pen set back from one of the goal posts, two pinto mascots eyed the crowd gathering for Dos Pintos High School's bid to win New Mexico's AAA championship. Keeping his focus on the teenagers meandering near him, one pinto gnawed at a string which held a banner: "Mustangs Rock."
Leaving very li
ttle room for fans of their cross-state rivals, the bleachers on both sides of the football field rapidly were filling with excited, local parents, faculty, and townspeople. Wrapped up for the crisp, clear, Autumn night and hyped because their team was finally a powerhouse, the adults began thinking maybe the small high school could win two championships once the basketball team took its place in the spotlight.
Being a huge basketball supporter, George Eagle of Apache Fishing & Hiking Supplies, readily joined in. "There's a real basketball star, Michael Kirkpatrick. See him? Next to his brother, the short guy that looks like football's in his future? How can you miss Michael? He's taller than all the kids. Look. Right next to the snack stand."
At 6'5", Michael did tower over everyone, including his 5'10" brother, Teddy, but Teddy bested the basketball player's weight by about 15 pounds. Finishing off hotdogs and sodas as they walked to the sidelines, Michael tried to spot the arrival of his long-time friend and now girlfriend
of two years, Kelly Lambert.
Teddy checked out the band forming up on the far end
of the field, ignored the cheerleaders loudly trying to get chants out of the clueless adults in the stands, and hoped to see the team emerge any second from the locker rooms at the far end of the field. A muffled "Neigh" floated down from the mountain beyond, and Teddy jerked his head around, trying to find the horse that called.
"Did Dad like football, Michael?"
Knowing his younger brother as he did, Michael could read the off-the-wall thought going through Teddy’s mind. "Teddy, Dad is not a horse."
"I know you think that. Did he like football? Will he watch my games from heaven when I play?"
Michael just shook his head. How in the world should he answer? Teddy loved the legend of dos pintos. To a boy of limited mental capabilities with concentration problems that made even special education classes a chore, imagining his father watching over him in horse-form made life a bit easier for Teddy. Losing their father to a heart attack when they were young had been devastating for both boys and their mother, but Teddy kept his father near by extending the Dos Pintos legend to include a great stallion housing his father's spirit.
“Did you hear me, Michael?” Teddy’s words broke into
Michael’s thoughts. “There’s Kelly over there.”
Kelly grinned at seeing Teddy waving eagerly. Her
honey brown hair bounced in its usual ponytail as she weaved through the milling crowd of teenagers.
She tried to take it all in, turning her head back and forth. "This is incredible, isn't it?"
"Will you come to my football games, Kelly?" Teddy asked.
"Of course I will."
"Did you eat anything?" Michael asked as he took her hand.
"I didn't want to miss any of this. The whole town's here."
"Come on, let's get you some dinner."
Michael turned back, when he noticed Teddy wasn't following. "You, too, Bud."
"I wanna see the team come out."
"Hey, Teddy," called Raymond Garcia as he ran up. Teddy gave an answering grin to the only friend he had outside his special classes.
For once Michael relaxed his vigilance. "Hiya,
Raymond. Okay, Teddy, we're just going to the food stand. You stay right here, okay? Just wait right here."
Teddy nodded in agreement.
Raymond drew Teddy's attention with, "I came with my brother and sister like you did." Realizing what he'd said, Raymond laughed and added, "I mean, with your brother. You don't have a sister."
When Teddy realized Raymond's mistake, he gave his friend a jab to the arm and laughed, too.
Near the snack stand Michael craned to see Teddy and grinned once he spotted the laughing boys.
"Oh, I have to go sit with my brother and sister now." With that, Raymond ran off.
Teddy once again turned to watch the gym's doors. Nothing. As high school kids filled the sidelines near him, the noise level seemed to get higher. Teddy didn't know any of the people near him. He couldn't see Michael. "I have to find Michael," Teddy thought, and he quickly started toward the snack stand.
"Hey, there, kid." An older boy blocked Teddy's way. "How ya doin'?"
"I'm okay. What's your name?"
"I've got something for you." The boy placed a small,
plastic bag in Teddy's hand and closed Teddy's fingers
around it. "You wanna buy it?"
"I don't have any money," Teddy responded, while
trying to give the packet back. "Michael told me not to take anything from strangers."
"Michael? Right. You're Michael Kirkpatrick's brother, aren't you? Tell him Leo says 'hello'."
"I don't want this." Teddy shoved the bag into Leo's hand and moved away quickly.
Halfway to Michael, suddenly a hand caught Teddy's arm and pulled him from the field, away from the snack stand. Realizing it was an adult, Teddy didn't struggle until his internal alarm bell rose to panic.
"What's the matter? Where are you taking me? You're a stranger."
Assistant Principal Martinez kept walking. "Just come with me."
"Michael!" Teddy yelled.
Michael glimpsed Teddy disappearing behind the bleachers. He ran as fast as possible through the crowd and stopped short upon seeing Teddy held by Mr. Martinez.
"What are you doing to my brother?" Michael yelled as he pulled Teddy to him. Holding Teddy tightly, Michael glared at the vice principal.
"This is your brother?"
Because of Michael's prominence at the top of the
senior class academically and his stature as a basketball
star, Mr. Martinez had heard about Michael's mentally-challenged brother. "I'm sorry, Michael, but I just saw him hand off a plastic bag to an older boy. I was about to ask about it. That's all. I'm sorry, if I scared you, son."
Mr. Martinez's apology seemed sincere to Michael, but still, it sounded like Teddy was in trouble. "What are you accusing Teddy of?" Michael asked through tight lips.
"You know we have to check out suspicious actions like this."
Michael turned to Teddy. "What about it, Bud? Did you give something suspicious to someone? Wait a minute..." Michael turned back to the man. "Where is this other person? Who was it?"
"It was Leo," Teddy broke in. "He said he knew you, Michael. He told me to tell you 'hi'."
"I don't know a Leo, but I've heard about one. If it's that guy, Teddy, you are never to have anything to do with him. Understand?"
"Yes, Michael. Are you mad at me?"
"No. Just tell Mr. Martinez what happened."
After Teddy finished relating the events, Michael was
more than satisfied that Teddy had been cleared of any kind
of wrongdoing.
Looking pained, Mr. Martinez said, "Turn your pockets inside out, Teddy."
Of course, Teddy didn't have drugs, but Mr. Martinez explained that no matter how innocent and inadvertent Teddy's actions may have been, he had handled the plastic bag and the school had no choice but to place Teddy on suspension for two weeks.
"What?! That's not fair. You don't even know what was in the bag. This Leo guy doesn't get in trouble, and Teddy is on OCS for two weeks?! He can't even wait in the bleachers during basketball practices? The convenience store won't let Mom take off from work. Teddy can't stay home alone. I'm not going to tell Coach I'll miss practice and the first two games. You do it!"
Mr. Martinez almost dropped his mouth open, when Michael led Teddy away. The school wasn't going to like this. The basketball coach wasn't going to like it. The fans! But rules are rules, aren't they?
Since Teddy's suspension meant he couldn’t take part in any extracurricular activities on campus, Michael, Teddy, and Kelly left before the football game even started. Dos Pintos became AAA champions, but among the
three sad teens heading home only Teddy cared.
* * *
Michael didn't know whether to be glad or sad, when they found their mother already asleep. She looked peaceful, sleeping with her graying hair curled about her face, one arm draped across her forehead, a light blanket covering her slight, though anything but frail, form.
It seemed so unfair to add to her worries, but, oh, how Michael wished someone else could fix things for Teddy. He didn't want to miss basketball. No way would he allow Teddy to be home alone after school for two weeks. "Oh, well," Michael thought, "Tomorrow will be soon enough to give her the bad news."
Teddy was relieved to see his mother asleep, and he felt a lot better once Michael broke the silence with, "Get some sleep, Bud. We'll work this out."
Sleep was much tougher for Michael as he warred within himself, wishing he could have a normal life, resentful that he might never have one, versus his love for Teddy and guilt about that terrible night when they were little.
* * *
Michael and Teddy, ages 5 and 2, were momentarily left to drive each other crazy while taking the mandatory nightly bath in their small home in the older section of town. Their mother had left them alone only briefly to get Teddy’s pajamas. Teddy had forgotten them, as usual.
Outside the tub, Michael found drying off difficult due to his brother's continual splashing.
"Cut that out!" Michael yelled. "Get out of the tub, or I'm telling Mom."
Teddy stood up and reached for the floating washcloth. He slipped, falling face down into the water.
"Come on, Teddy. Don't kid around. Get out of there."
Michael reached into the water and pulled Teddy's arm. Teddy didn't respond. Michael began to panic, trying to pull his brother out and yelling in fear.
"MOM, HELP! TEDDY'S IN TROUBLE! MOM!"
Eleanor Kirkpatrick raced into the bathroom and yanked Teddy out of the tub.
Her face white, she laid Teddy on the bathmat. "Michael, call 911 on the telephone, just like I showed you."
Michael raced away, bumping into the doorjamb as he left, and catching sight of his mother trying to do CPR the way she'd seen it done on TV.
Although only a minute or two had elapsed before Teddy
had been rescued, the damage had been done. Teddy’s mental
capabilities, while not severely impaired, would never be as keen as others his age.