Norm Alexander: “Reaching Out and Beyond” – Honorable Mention – a Connect In South Valley short story
Reaching Out and Beyond
By Norm Alexander
In the living room of their San Jose home, Rudy and Janice Salcedo were having a somber conversation about their son’s condition when Rudy’s cell phone rang. The call wouldn’t last long.
Rudy sighed and put the phone down. “That was the hospital. Jason just passed away. The doctor said his heart couldn’t go on any longer and it simply stopped.”
Janice looked down and then around the room when she spotted Jason’s cat, Toby, sleeping under the coffee table. On the table was a picture of Jason. “This is hard,” she said. “I can’t stay in this house any longer. There are too many memories.”
Soon after the funeral, the Salcedos put their house up for sale and began searching for a rental. They started with a neighborhood in the east hills of Morgan Hill that bordered a large lake created by Anderson Dam.
The first house they checked out looked nicer than it did online. Seeing the front door ajar, they walked up to the entry and peeked in to see an older but fit man balancing precariously on a ladder with a paint brush in his hand.
The man looked down at the two and lowered his brush. “Can I help you?” he asked in his slight Middle Eastern accent.
The Salcedos took a couple of steps into the house and stood in awe at the phenomenal view. “We saw on the internet that this house was for rent.”
“Hold on,” the man said as he stepped down the ladder. “Yes, the house is for rent. My name is Mehdi.”
“I’m Rudy Salcedo. This is my wife Janice.”
“Do you want to look around?”
“We do.”
Mehdi showed the Salcedos around and it was obvious to them that Mehdi was quite proud of his house. “I built this house. My son used to live here with me but he got married and moved to Santa Cruz. I still live here. Downstairs.”
Rudy shot a glance at Janice. “You do?”
“It’s a small apartment completely separate from the rest of the house. Staying here gives me a chance to still enjoy the lake and tend to my garden. I hope it’s not a problem.”
“It’s not.” Rudy ambled over to the large windows and looked down at Mehdi’s garden. Dotted with tomato and squash plants, it was small and rugged with a steep incline toward the lake.
“We have a cat named Toby. Do you take cats?”
“Of course. I love cats.”
“Toby was our son’s cat.”
Mehdi mulled over that comment. “So, do you want to rent my house?”
Rudy looked at Janice, who nodded. “We do.”
“I suppose it’ll only be you two and your cat Toby.” Janice stared blankly at Mehdi and said nothing.
“That’s right,” Rudy replied.
# # #
The Salcedos quickly settled in. Toby became a fixture on a chair placed outside the front door so he could watch the world passing by on the narrow sloped street. Often a jogger or a hiker would stop, walk up to Toby and give him a few pets followed by a “Hello Mehdi” shout. Everyone knew Mehdi since they often ran across him on his daily hikes, usually in nearby Rosendin Park.
Rosendin Park, which overlooked Anderson Lake and most of Morgan Hill, was a tranquil retreat with its abundance of mature trees, lush foliage, hiking trails and a pond loaded with frogs and mallard ducks.
Enjoying their morning coffee on the deck, Janice put down the latest Morgan Hill Living newspaper she was reading. “Listen, Rudy. It says here that Rosendin Park was a gift from a Mexican immigrant who got rich and—”
“Hold it. I hear Mehdi out in front. Wait here.”
Rudy walked out to see Mehdi sitting on the chair with Toby on his lap. “Good morning, Mehdi.”
Mehdi smiled and then gazed at Toby. “He’s very beautiful. I had a Persian cat when I moved here from Iran. Unfortunately, one day I was careless and I forgot to bring him in when it got dark. When I heard a commotion outside, I ran out the door but it was too late. Thankfully, he died quickly.”
“Sorry to hear that. So what’s with the coyotes?”
“They’re everywhere. You’ll know when they’ve made a kill by their eerie howling. So, be careful with your Toby.”
“We will. How about we get some coffee and join Janice out on the deck.”
The three sat close to the outer edge of the deck to get a better view of the lake directly below them and the rolling hills, now browned by the summer sun, on the opposite side of the lake.
Mehdi pointed to a herd of cattle down by the water’s edge. “The ranchers let their cattle roam and then herd them in every night. During the day, I can clearly hear the cows lowing away.”
Janice spotted another herd of animals off to the right. They were not as bulky as the cattle and had light brown, spotted coats. “Mehdi, look to the right of the cattle. What are those?”
Mehdi didn’t respond, his head drooped and his eyes closed.
Janice looked over at Mehdi. “Mehdi . . . Mehdi. Are you okay?”
Mehdi raised his head, blinked several times and cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m okay. I’ve been having headaches. Sometimes they make me dizzy.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
Mehdi nodded and looked across the lake. “Those are tule elk found only in California. When the Europeans first arrived, there were half a million tules. Now, there are at most four or five thousand. What you’re seeing is rare.”
“So why did you leave Iran?” Rudy asked.
“The first time, I left to go to college in San Luis Obispo to study agriculture. After I graduated four years later, I returned to Iran for several years.”
“And then you left Iran again?”
“I did. After the Shah was returned to power by your CIA, I’m sorry to say, living in Iran became very dangerous because of Savak.”
“What’s Savak?”
“The Shah’s secret police. They were very brutal. Anyone who didn’t agree with the Shah was labeled a communist.” Mehdi fell silent, remembering the day he returned from a fishing trip to discover his entire family had disappeared.
It was obvious by the look on Mehdi’s face and his tone of voice that there was more than what he said about Savak. But Rudy wasn’t going there. “Why did you settle in this area?”
“My college roommate’s family had a ranch in San Martin. Mario Minikata was a good guy. Part Japanese, part Latino and part something else. In the summer before I graduated, I stayed at his family’s ranch and got to know the area pretty well. We hit the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, the Mushroom Mardi Gras in Morgan Hill and even a rodeo in Salinas. I loved the people, the festivities and especially the smell of garlic and mushrooms in the air.”
Janice furrowed her brow. “You liked that funky stench we smell every morning?”
“Still do. It reminds me of the alleys and cobblestone streets of Tehran where street vendors peddled their deep-fried Middle Eastern concoctions. Many Americans would be surprised how ethnically diverse and beautiful Iran is with its snow-capped mountains and all.”
“Obviously, you still miss Iran. So why did you settle on Morgan Hill?”
“I always wanted to build a house next to a lake. A lake very much like the one where I fished in Iran. Neor Lake, close to the Caspian Sea. Anderson Lake is why I decided on Morgan Hill.”
Mehdi pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Before you go, Rudy and I were hoping you’ll join us this weekend at the July 4th Morgan Hill parade?”
“Of course I will. I go every year.”
# # #
While waiting in the living room for Mehdi to come up from his apartment, there was a loud bang outside the front door.
“What the heck was that?” Janice said. She jumped up and hurried out the door where she saw Mehdi sprawled on his back with one hand on Toby’s toppled chair. His eyes were glassy and rolled back. His body was trembling.
“Rudy!” she screamed. “Get out here—quick!”
Rudy scrambled out the door to see Janice performing CPR while Mehdi drifted in and out of consciousness.
“I think he had a heart attack. Call 911. I’ll keep working on him.”
Rudy pulled out his cell phone but couldn’t make the call. “There’s no service here in the front,” Rudy yelled out as he hustled to the deck in back.
“Hurry!” Janice screamed.
On the deck, Rudy finally got service and was connected to 911. He blurted to the operator the situation they were in and that Janice was performing CPR. The operator told Rudy she was dispatching an ambulance and it should arrive shortly. She also told him to make sure Janice does two compressions per second. She can stop after 600 compressions.
And Janice might pass out by then, Rudy thought.
“Two compressions per second! My God, I’m already exhausted. Tell them to send two ambulances.”
Janice hunkered down and picked up the pace as Rudy again ran back to the deck to let the operator know that Janice was still plugging away and that Mehdi was still unconscious. The operator told him to stay on the line until the ambulance came. When Rudy heard the ambulance chugging up the steep pot-holed road, he ended the call.
A drenched Janice continued compressing until the EMTs took over and loaded Mehdi into the ambulance. Rudy and Janice then watched the ambulance disappear down the hill on the way to St. Louise Hospital in Gilroy.
“You doing okay?”
She looked her husband straight in the eye. “I think I need a couple shots of tequila.”
# # #
The Salcedos waited several days before going to the hospital to see how Mehdi was doing. They were not surprised to see the room filled with numerous bouquets and cards from friends, neighbors and even a few local politicians.
When Janice approached Mehdi’s bedside, he opened his eyes and gently put his trembling hand on Janice’s wrist. “Thank you so much,” he whispered. “I also want to tell you that I am so sorry about your son.”
Janice was confused. “How did you know about our son Jason?”
“When we first met, we didn’t hesitate to sincerely reach out to each other. Right then I could see in your eyes that both of you were troubled. When Rudy mentioned that Toby was your son’s cat but said nothing about Jason, I suspected the worst.”
Turns out Mehdi had a seizure due to a brain tumor. He was eventually moved to his son’s home in Santa Cruz where the Salcedos visited him often.
Almost a year later, Mehdi passed away. A memorial was held on a Sunday at the Morgan Hill Community Park attended by quite a crowd, including Mehdi’s old buddy Mario Minikata. There were many nice things said about Mehdi.
The park, typically teeming with family outings filled with music and frolic, was subdued in respect to the service being held. Surprisingly, some even joined the circle of mourners who were holding hands with heads bowed in silent prayer and remembrance. That’s what Mehdi’s Morgan Hill was all about.
After the memorial, Mehdi’s only son gave the Salcedos an urn filled with Mehdi’s ashes which they spread in Rosendin Park and then around Mehdi’s garden. From there, they stumbled down the steep hill leading to the shores of Mehdi’s beloved Anderson Lake.
Janice hesitated before spreading the rest of the ashes over the lake. “You know, it just hit me. In my heart, I feel Mehdi has already reached out to Jason.”
Rudy took his wife’s hand. “I feel the same way. It’s how Mehdi was.”