“No, I should get you some breakfast,” Julie protested.
“I can fix my own. Seriously, Julie, you look like you need a nap. Go ahead and crawl in for a few hours.”
Julie smiled tiredly and put her arms around Jimmy. “You know,” she said. “I might just do that. I’m pretty beat. Could you wake me up for lunch?”
Jimmy nodded. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll be up here at noon.”
She lifted her face to his and quickly kissed him on the mouth. She then kicked off her shoes and began to unzip her pants.
“I’d better go,” said Jimmy.
“What?” asked Julie, as she shimmied out of her blue jeans.
Jimmy wasn’t listening, and had already walked out and closed the door behind him. He could hear Julie giggling behind him as he headed toward the stairs.
Jimmy found the house empty as he went downstairs. There was coffee in the pot, and he poured himself a cup, spooning in a teaspoon of sugar. There were some cinnamon rolls on the counter; he put two on a paper plate and sat at the table. The rolls were dry and past their prime, but he ate them hungrily and washed them down with his coffee. He felt better. He refilled his cup, walked out the door into the back yard and out to his tent. He needed a smoke and some time to think.
The back yard was as deserted as the house. Jimmy was surprised to see that many of the tents were gone. Only half remained of those that had been there a few days ago. Jimmy wondered if they’d been carried away by the storm. Thankfully his was still there, and he went inside, surprised to find it no worse for wear. He fished out a Camel from a stray pack and went back out into the morning sunshine. He lit up and took a seat at a picnic table.
Ken and Patty were gone. What they’d find on the outside was anyone’s guess. Jimmy found that he didn’t want to think about that. Julie obviously thought that their kiss in the garage had changed everything, and Jimmy found that he didn’t want to think about that either. He still felt a little weak, but other than that he felt fine. He’d been lucky, and knew he should feel that way. He didn’t. He wanted to turn back the hands of time to before the storm.
He knew that was impossible, but he had to do something to establish some order and get people working on the wall again. That was important. He’d have to stand in for Ken; someone had to, and if he didn’t do it soon, there was no telling what might happen. Jimmy snubbed out his cigarette and finished his coffee. He looked up at the empty house and thought of the empty bathroom and the shower inside. The thought got him moving. He returned to his tent and grabbed his shaving kit, fresh clothes and a towel and jogged back to the house.
The hot shower felt wonderful, and whatever guilt he felt for taking one was washed down the drain with the water. Jimmy shaved, brushed his teeth and then dressed. He emerged feeling like his old self again. He quickly stowed his shaving kit and hung his towel over a limb of the elm. He could hear music from next door. The party was still going strong as if nothing were wrong in the world. Fools, thought Jimmy. He shook his head and walked down toward the lake.
Jimmy was shocked to find that the fallen pine tree still lay where it’d fallen. The Ford and the Toyota underneath the tree looked crumpled and sad. Jimmy began to notice other things. The lawn was a mess of downed branches from the storm, and here and there Jimmy could see trash littering the yard. It wasn’t much, but Jimmy felt anger growing in the pit his stomach. Why hadn’t anyone thought to cut up the tree or rake Patty’s beautiful yard. Couldn’t someone at least have picked up the trash? Jimmy cringed when he thought of Ken having to be carried around that tree. He lit up another cigarette and strode down to the lake.
There he found only a few of the younger people and some children splashing in the water. All three boats were missing from the dock. He looked for a familiar face and found Brenda sitting in a lawn chair with a beer. She was wearing a swim suit that revealed a little too much cleavage that drooped over her paunch. Her skin was pale white, almost to the point of looking unhealthy. Jimmy had known Brenda Brown for years, but the two had never been close. Brenda had been a friend of Julie’s and a little too rough around the edges for Jimmy’s taste. He walked over to her and sat down in the grass.
“Jimmy,” she said with red-rimmed eyes. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Where is everyone?”
“Here, there,” she said, noncommittally. “Why? Are you looking for someone?”
“You could say that. What’s going on here? Why isn’t anyone cutting up that tree or raking up the lawn? What’s going on with the wall?”
Brenda raised her beer and swilled down what remained in the can. “How the hell should I know?” she asked, fetching another can from a small cooler. “I’m just going with the flow, man. You want one?”
Jimmy shook his head. He could see quite well what had happened, and he didn’t want to lose his temper with Brenda. She wasn’t any guiltier than anyone else. He fought to keep his anger down. He would have to lead by example. It’d be the only way. He stood, surveying the lake.
“Where’s Julie?” Brenda asked.
“Taking a nap,” Jimmy said, already turning toward the house.
“Are you two back together?” Brenda asked with a slight slur in her voice.
Jimmy groaned to himself and kept walking. He found the chainsaws where he’d left them before the storm. He selected one, topped off the gas and checked the bar oil. He then walked down to the tree, gritting his teeth. The saw started on the third pull, and he attacked the pine with fury. He worked alone for just five minutes. Jon was the first to join him. He sheepishly donned a pair of work gloves and began to drag the limbs into the woods. Jimmy continued to work at a frantic pace, and soon half a dozen men had joined Jon and him at the tree. They made short work of it, and by the time Jimmy shut off the saw, he counted fifteen people toiling in the front yard. A few of the women had picked up rakes and were tending to the lawn.
Jimmy, although weak and very tired, felt much better. He teamed up with Jon and the other men, and they hauled the trunk of the tree out in four sections. They heaved them over to the spot where construction of the wall had been halted by the storm. The exertion had made Jimmy hungry again, and he longed for some real food. But first there was some business to attend to.
The lawn looked much better as the last of the branches were raked up. Jimmy called out, “I think we need to have a meeting. Anyone who wants to attend should meet me in the back yard!”
They followed him there, taking chairs and placing them in a semicircle. While many of their group was missing, Jimmy was glad to see the eager faces in front of him. Cindy smiled, taking a seat directly across from him. There was no sign of Bill.
“Listen,” said Jimmy, searching for the right words. “Ken and Patty are gone. We have no idea for how long. We’ve got to carry on as if they were still here. Does that make sense to all of you? We’ve got to have some structure here. We’ve got to finish the wall. We need to elect that council. Things are falling apart, and we can’t have that. We’ve got to be together on this.”
Jimmy could see nothing but nodding heads and his heart soared.
The work was slow and tedious. The previous rain seemed to have hatched entire colonies of thirsty mosquitoes and biting gnats. The crew had been cut to a third of its original number. Jimmy worked alone felling trees, feeling as if he’d pass out with every swipe of his saw. He labored on, all the while growing more irritated with those who were still out fishing or next door partying with Sally’s crowd. It wasn’t fair, not to him or anyone else who continued Ken’s work. He was particularly upset with Bill who had tagged along uninvited. Cindy understood what was at stake here, and she worked alongside the men, hacking away with a limb saw.
They worked until well after six, Jon directing the small crew down at the wall. They worked in silence, focusing their energies on the task at hand. The good humor and conversation had all but left the workers. They’d had the wind taken out of their sails by
all of those who’d decided they were above working on the project. They barely finished another thirty feet before knocking off for dinner.
Julie and Rita worked in the kitchen. They cooked another ham and sliced it up for sandwiches. There was potato salad, chips, and fudge brownies for dessert. The work detail gratefully dished up buffet style and returned outside to eat their meal. They gathered at the fire pit, pulling some tables together.
Eventually Brenda and some others who’d been next door filed through the line. They sat away from everyone else, and soon they were joined by the men who’d been out on the lake. Bill showed up, his plate brimming with food. Soon they were all gathered in the back yard, those who had worked and those who hadn’t. The tension hung thick in the air as everyone ate.
“You should say something,” Cindy whispered from across the table to Jimmy.
Jimmy nodded. Something had to be said. He only wished Ken was here to say it. This wasn’t his place. He had no more right to tell anyone what to do than the next guy. He didn’t want to start a fight; then again, it looked as if one was already brewing.
Julie, who had dished up a very small plate and had eaten little of that, dropped her fork. “You should do it, now,” she said, turning to Jimmy. “Before things get really ugly.”
“Please?” asked Cindy.
“All right,” Jimmy said, hoping that the right words would come to him. He stood up and looked around. “Could I have everyone’s attention for a minute?” he asked in a loud voice.
The reactions of the two groups in front of him were polar opposite. The smaller group that had helped on the wall and in the kitchen looked up expectantly; they dropped their eating utensils and gave Jimmy their undivided attention. Some were even smiling. The others—those who had been over at Sally’s or out on the lake—rolled their eyes. They made comments under their breath and continued eating.
“As you can see, we’ve started work on the wall again,” began Jimmy. “Ken and Patty would’ve wanted that. I think tomorrow we should all get back into our routine and continue working on the wall until it’s finished. Working together, we can have it done in a couple days.”
“Who elected you to take Ken’s place?” growled Pete Donnelly, looking like an angry bear. “I ain’t taking orders from you or anyone else here!”
Glen Putnam stood, picking up where Donnelly had left off. “I’m with Pete. I’m through working like a dog in this heat. I didn’t want to say it before, but I’ll say it now: building that wall was one of the most foolish ideas I’ve ever heard. Did Ken really want to block out the outside world? Or did he want to lock us all inside so we could do his work for him? No, sir. I’m not lifting another finger on that monstrosity. And as far as fixing meals goes, we all brought along our own food. I say we just eat when we please. This isn’t a prison camp.”
Jimmy’s temper flared. “Lock us all inside?” He asked, stabbing his finger in Putnam’s direction. “Is that what you think he was doing? Maybe you’ve all forgotten about Tom Bauer and Billy Campbell? Their graves are right down that path. Do you really think that something like that won’t happen again?”
“They died saving your sorry ass,” shouted back Putnam, his eyes blazing. “How dare you, of all people, even bring up their names? They’d be alive right now if it wasn’t for you!”
Jimmy felt as if he’d been kicked. He could feel the blood pounding in his veins, and he clenched his teeth. He sized up Putnam, certain that he could take him down in ten seconds or less. He’d never liked Putnam or Donnelly, and he was remembering why that was. And now they were trying to call the shots as if they were still at the Plant.
“How can you say that?” shouted Julie, who now stood at Jimmy’s side. “What if it’d been you back there at the rest area? Huh? What if those bikers had been about to stick a knife in your sorry ass? Wouldn’t you have wanted someone to try to rescue you? You rotten bastards!”
“Shut up, you tramp!” ordered Putnam’s wife, a stout, orange-haired woman in her forties. “No one calls my husband a bastard! Especially not some young bitch like you!”
“Do you want to make something of that?” shrieked Julie, her face contorted with rage.
“Enough!” shouted Jimmy. “Enough! This has gone too far!” He grabbed Julie by the shoulder and held her back. “Okay, Glen, Pete, what do you suggest we do? You’ve got the floor. Let’s hear your ideas!”
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,” said Putnam. “I’m taking my family next door. I’m not putting up with any more of this bullshit. They invited us over there to join them—all of us—and they have a lot more room than we have here. They also seem to be enjoying themselves. Is there something wrong with that? I’m going. I don’t give a damn what anyone else does.”
“Me, too,” said Donnelly. “I’m going into that shed and find every last can of food that I brought up here. Then I’m going to take my tent down and join that bunch next door!”
“Fine,” said Jon, standing up, his fists clenched at his sides. “Go. If that’s how you feel, then just go. We don’t need you over here!”
“I will, by God, I sure as hell will!” retorted Donnelly.
“Who’s with us?” asked Putnam, his arms folded across his belly. “All Sally asked was that we bring our own food.”
“I’m with you guys,” Brenda said, holding a can of Coors above her head. “I’m not going to be a slave—at least not until the lights are out!”
Jimmy could feel Julie flinch with Brenda’s comment. “Come on,” he pleaded to the crowd. “Let’s not get carried away here. We’ve all got to stick together. Ken would’ve wanted that.”
“And he got struck down by lightning, didn’t he?” asked Bill.
Jimmy had heard Bill say a lot of foolish things in his day, but he’d never said something so completely insane. He wanted to scream, and was suddenly shocked to see more people nodding their heads. They actually agreed with him.
“Let’s go!” shouted Putnam.
Jimmy stared in disbelief as half the group stood at the same time. Pete Donnelly and Glen Putnam led the charge to the shed. Pete flung open the door and began pulling out boxes of food. All semblance of order had vanished. The group was acting as a mob, following each other with an ever-growing fever of self-righteousness. They crowded around the shed, tossing out whatever they chose. There seemed to be no stopping them. They were going to strip Patty’s pantry bare and leave the others to fend for themselves. Jill and Brian Sandberg were the only couple who had been away that afternoon who stayed at their table. Everyone else was gathered at the shed. The only things missing are the torches and pitchforks, thought Jimmy.
A shot rang out, exploding in the air with a deafening crack. It was Jon, and he held a semiautomatic pistol in his hand. “You won’t be taking that box,” he said to a woman in green shorts. “That box either. Those are mine,” Jon said, his face red with anger. “And you won’t be taking anything that belongs to anyone who chooses to stay. You especially won’t be taking anything of the Dahlgrens. Am I making myself clear?”
“Holy crap,” whispered Cindy, who now stood with Jimmy and Julie.
Jimmy watched with horror as the crowd turned at once and faced Jon with insolent eyes.
“What are you going to do, queer, shoot us all?” asked Donnelly, walking forward to challenge Jon. He waved his hands in the air. “Come on people, he can’t shoot all of us!”
Jon strode over to meet him, gun at his side. The crowd parted, and all eyes were on the two men. Jon was Jimmy’s size, and he stood a good six inches shorter than Pete Donnelly. The two met on the lawn and Jimmy held his breath.
“What’d you call me?” hissed Jon.
“A queer, that’s what you are, isn’t it? Or, do you prefer homo?” asked Donnelly, with a sneer.
What happened next occurred in the blink of an eye. Jon reached out with his free hand and took Donnelly’s meaty hand in his own. He then twisted it hard and took a quick ste
p behind the larger man.
“Owww!” howled Donnelly. “Let go!”
“I can break it,” said Jon, his voice calm and cool. “I could snap it like a twig. How would you like that? I’m going to tell you this one time, so listen up. If you ever call me a name like that again, I’ll break both your arms. That’s a promise. Now let’s understand each other. You people can take what you came with and nothing more. Agreed?”
Pete Donnelly snarled; his eyes had grown wild. Jon lifted his hand a fraction of an inch, bending his wrist with a steel grip. “I understand! We’ll only take what’s ours!” Donnelly looked to be on the verge of tears.
“Good,” said Jon, and he slowly released Donnelly’s hand. “Then do it.”
Donnelly rubbed his wrist with his good hand, his reddened face set in a child’s pout. Jon took a step back and waved his gun toward the crowd. “Get on with it then!” he shouted. “Take what you came with and be gone, all of you. But, remember this: once you take all of your belongings and cross the fence for the last time, there will be no coming back. That goes for every single one of you!”
Jimmy watched with disbelief as the mob suddenly looked as if they all shared some second thoughts. He thought for a moment that they’d all return to their food and finish their meal and would somehow put this nasty business behind them. Then in dismay Jimmy watched as they returned their attention to the shed, entering single file and emerging with whatever looked as if it belonged to them. Jimmy watched Bill exit the shed, his arms loaded with many of the foodstuffs Jimmy had purchased in Saint Cloud before this had all begun. Bill diverted his gaze and followed the others to the gate in the tall cyclone fence. Sally’s group watched from their side of the fence, the gunshot having the same result as a whistle to dogs.
“I’m not going with them,” Cindy said angrily. “That’s not my father. I don’t know who he thinks he is. I’m going to the tent and pack my stuff. I’ll sleep in the shed if I have to.”
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