The sound was as if the home team had just scored in overtime. They were cheering.
Jimmy wondered in that. What could they be cheering about? He was nearly to the gate now. He gave Burt a confused look. Burt returned it, shrugging his beefy shoulders. The people were picking up their pace, as everyone inside wondered what the cheering was all about. Jimmy raised his rifle, unsure of what awaited them once they reached the other side. He began to hyperventilate, sweat oozed from his pores. He joined Burt at the gate where they waited for the last to file through, and they burst outside together, holding their rifles at their shoulders.
Jimmy and Burt emerged into an excited frenzy. Everyone was hugging and cheering, whooping at the top of their lungs. He scanned the crowd and was puzzled to see Ken and Patty embracing, their faces tear-streaked and full of pure joy.
Julie ran to him, her rifle was gone. She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s over, Jimmy! It’s all over!”
Jimmy dropped his rifle, wondering what she meant by that. She kissed him deeply, holding him so tight that Jimmy thought she’d crack his ribs.
“What’s going on!” shouted Burt. “What do you mean?”
Julie let go of Jimmy and turned to face them both. “The Guard has let everyone go! Everyone’s going home! Everything is back to normal, and they’re already rebuilding! Oh, my God, I can’t believe it!”
“When?” asked Jimmy. “When did this all happen?”
“Yesterday!” answered Julie, trying to be heard over the roar of the crowd. “The Guard has gone home! The local governments have started up again! We’re saved, Jimmy. We’re saved!”
Jimmy turned to Burt, who was wearing a huge grin. “Really?” Burt asked. “We can all go home?”
“It’s over!” shouted Julie, with a huge smile on her face. “It’s really over!”
Forty
Do desperate times call for desperate measures? Yes! It is usually by desperate means that we suffer desperate times.
“They’ve got buses running up and down the highways! Greyhounds, school buses! They’re giving rides back down toward the cities for free!” shouted a young officer from the hood of a squad car. Jimmy could see the guy’s partner standing next to the cruiser, smiling broadly. “We thought everyone knew! God bless America, people! It’s all over!”
Jimmy was suddenly tackled by Bill, who was cheering like a maniac. “We’re going home, Jimmy! We’re going home!”
He pried himself free, and Bill continued to leap around, hugging everyone who stood in his way. Jimmy turned, but Julie and Burt were gone, having been swept away by the crowd of overjoyed people. Jimmy couldn’t believe his eyes. Could they be right? Was it really all over? He took a few moments to digest the information.
Jimmy spotted Paula and Carl. They stood alone next to the wall. Carl held a folded sheaf of papers. He was pointing to them, saying something to Paula. She seemed to be listening with great interest. Jimmy waded through the crowd to join them.
“Hey,” Jimmy said, uncertain of what to say. He knew that Paula had seen him kissing Julie inside the fence. Everyone had. He was suddenly embarrassed by that. He knew he should’ve ended things differently. Paula deserved better than that.
“Look who’s here,” said Paula, her face was beaming.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” said Carl, in an insolent tone.
“What?” asked Jimmy, confused by the sudden return of the butler’s arrogance.
“Look, Jimmy,” said Paula, pointing to what Carl was holding. “Do you see that? It’s my dad’s Will! Can you believe it?”
“That’s great,” said Jimmy, wondering why she seemed so excited about that.
“Look what it says, Jimmy! I’m going to be a billionaire! My parents left it all to me! My dad left his money in a Swiss bank. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“That’s great news,” said Jimmy, forcing himself to smile. He looked at Carl and was still more confused by the way the man was looking at him. There was something else; Jimmy was sure of it.
“I can’t actually have the money until I’ve married, Jimmy. Isn’t that odd? I can’t imagine why my dad put that in there. But it’s there. It’s all there in black and white. Isn’t that something? I can’t believe it!”
Jimmy swallowed hard. He should’ve seen something like this happening. He couldn’t marry Paula, not now. Not for all the money on earth. How could he explain this to her? She could never understand how he really felt. His heart belonged to Julie and would always belong to her. Paula was going to be crushed. Jimmy tried to find the words to tell her.
“Well?” asked Carl with a leer. “What do you have to say about that?”
Jimmy felt his heart drop. They were waiting for him to ask for her hand in marriage. Jimmy wanted to crawl under a rock. He took a breath and gave it to her straight up. “I’m sorry, Paula. I can’t do it. I’m so sorry.”
Paula and Carl exchanged glances, and they both burst into a fit of laughter.
“What?” asked Jimmy, “what’s so funny?”
Paula fought to control her sarcastic laughter. She held her stomach with both hands; her face had gone bright red. She finally regained her composure. “You don’t know the rest, Jimmy. That’s the best part. My dad wrote that I had to be married, but to anyone except you! Can you believe it? You’d better. Carl and I are going straight to the courthouse. With any luck, we’ll be married by the end of the week and on a plane to Switzerland. What do you think of that, Jimmy?”
“You didn’t think that she’d actually marry you, did you?” hissed Carl. “I’d have died first. You’re a loser, Jimmy. You know that, don’t you? You’ll never amount to anything more than you already are. A loser!”
Paula giggled and threw her arms around Carl. She had never looked happier to Jimmy, and he turned away. Julie was standing right behind him. She took him by the hand and led him away from Paula and Carl who were exchanging a passionate kiss.
“Did you hear that?” asked Jimmy. “All of it?”
“I did,” answered Julie, looking deeply into Jimmy’s eyes.
“I couldn’t do it; I’m in love with you.”
“I heard you. That’s a good thing.”
“I want to get married. I want a family. I want it all, Julie. Will you be my wife?”
“I’ll think about it,” said Julie, coyly.
“What?” asked Jimmy, “What do you mean by that—you’ll think about it?”
“I haven’t forgotten our little walk, Jimmy. Remember, at the campground? I hate to say it, but I told you so.”
“Oh, crap,” muttered Jimmy. “That’s all changed, now. Can’t you see that? Didn’t you hear what I just said? I’m sorry, baby. I really am. I couldn’t go with you then. I had to make sure she was all right. You can see she’s more than all right. Paula looks like she’s died and gone to heaven!”
“Good for her,” said Julie, her face composed and serious. “You couldn’t go with me then, and I’m not going with you now. Not yet, anyhow. You’ve got a lot of ground to make up, Jimmy. We’re back to square one.”
“Come on, Julie.”
“I mean it. I do love you, Jimmy, but you’ve got a lot to prove. You should’ve asked me this when we were at the clearing. I would’ve said yes. I would’ve screamed it. You really blew it back there, buddy.”
“I’m sorry. That was a mistake.”
“Not as big as the one Paula just made. She’s giving up the best thing she ever had.”
“Do you mean…?”
“No. I meant what I said: square one. Can you handle that?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.”
Long after the crowd had vanished down the road and the sky was starting to hint at a brilliant sunset, Jimmy stood with Ken at the gate. They embraced. Gone was the awkward feeling after all they had been through; he felt as if he were truly hugging his father.
“Are you sure?” asked Jimmy.
“Take it
!” ordered Ken. “We’ll be fine up here. I’ve got the Mack if we need anything from town. Come back in a week. We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do.”
Patty took Jimmy into her arms and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Jimmy,” she whispered into his ear. “May God be with you, and we’ll see you soon, okay?”
“I’ll be back, seven days from today. You can set your clocks by that.”
Patty nodded, and Jimmy could see that she was crying.
Jimmy turned and was quickly embraced by Dr. Benson. “I’ll be here when you get back. Ken’s going to help me bring everything back to the hospital. Tomorrow I’m going to eat and get about sixteen hours of sleep. Thank you, Jimmy. You and Jon saved my life.”
Jimmy shook his head. The pain was still there, despite everything that’d happened. He couldn’t think of Jon without the air rushing out of him. He remembered what the Doctor had said about that type of pain, and it helped him keep his composure.
“You’d better get going,” said Ken. “You should have plenty of gas. Just be careful out there, okay?”
“Okay, Ken. Take care of yourself, okay? Goodbye, everyone. I’ll see you soon!”
They all wished him the same in return. They stood and waved at the gate as Jimmy hopped up into Ken’s Tahoe where Julie and Burt were waiting, and fired up the ignition. Bill was waiting in his car with Rita and Cindy riding along with him. Jimmy thought that he might see something blossoming between Bill and Rita. He did know that Cindy would do whatever she could to make it grow.
They drove away, and Jimmy tooted the horn as they rounded the corner of the gravel road. That was tradition. They rode along in silence, each thinking about what they’d find when they finally returned home. They reached the highway, and Jimmy pressed down on the accelerator. He was excited about the future. He was anxious to prove himself to Julie. As much as he liked Burt, he couldn’t wait to be alone with her.
Jimmy watched Bill in his rearview mirror. Bill seemed to be laughing, telling one of his many stories. Jimmy groaned at the thought of that. How many times would he have to listen to Bill tell of their exploits during the crisis. Jimmy knew Bill all too well; the stories would grow longer as Bill stretched the truth until it was as thin as a human hair. Like he’d really need to do that, after all they’d experienced. Jimmy made up his mind right then. He was going to move. As much as he liked Bill, they just couldn’t be neighbors anymore. Maybe he and Julie could get a place together? He didn’t care where.
They rounded a corner with the sunset blazing before them. Burt stretched his arm over the backseat and pointed out the windshield. “Remember that place, Jimmy? What a view. I’ll bet it’s beautiful this time of day. I’m going back there someday.”
Jimmy had a sudden urge. He spotted the little driveway and pressed hard on the brakes. He turned the Tahoe down the driveway and they bounced down the little road. Bill followed.
“I didn’t mean right now,” said Burt. “I just said someday.”
“Who invited you?” asked Jimmy. “I want to take Julie up there. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Go where?” asked Julie. “I just want to get home, Jimmy. I’m beat.”
Jimmy turned the Tahoe around and slapped the gearshift into park. “Come on,” he pleaded. “I need to talk to you. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Jimmy, I don’t know…”
“Come on, you’ve got to see this,” Jimmy said, opening his door and stepping outside. “We’ll be back in a few minutes, Burt. You can visit with Bill.”
“Can I please?” asked Burt without any enthusiasm.
Jimmy laughed and stopped at Bill’s car, explaining things to him as quickly as he could. He stopped Bill every time he tried to interrupt. Bill would make them miss the sunset; Jimmy was sure of it. He could go on about nothing and keep going until he was blue in the face. Jimmy grabbed Julie by the hand and led her back down the driveway. She followed, reluctantly at first.
They crossed the highway and entered the tall pines where they had before. Jimmy remembered both trips up to the top of the lookout. This one would be different. This time he was going to drop to one knee when they reached the top. This was the place where he really wanted to ask Julie for her hand. He couldn’t imagine a better spot to do it. He had no doubt how she’d respond. That didn’t matter. What really mattered was that she’d always remember when he popped the question, and that he’d done it right.
They talked a little, making idle conversation as Jimmy led her toward where the rocks jutted from the earth and they began to climb. They took their time, Julie’s face brightening as they neared the top. This place seemed to have been untouched by man, and the towering pines glimmered in the orange sunset. Jimmy stopped here and there to lend a hand to Julie. She took it gratefully, staring directly into his eyes. That electric current had returned, and it ran through their bodies whenever they touched. Jimmy knew that she could feel it. That current was as real as the rocks they were climbing.
Jimmy stopped near the top. They were ten feet away. He wanted her to go first so he could watch her expression as she looked over the sleepy little town and into the spectacular sunset beyond. “You first,” he said. “Take a look and tell me what you think!”
Julie smiled and took Jimmy by the waist and kissed him gently. “This is beautiful, Jimmy. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
“You can thank me later,” said Jimmy with a wink.
“You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Julie asked, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
“Ouch,” Jimmy said, rubbing his shoulder. “Get up there. I’ve got something to ask you. It can’t wait.”
Julie nodded and Jimmy thought she knew what was coming. She gave him a smile and continued up the final ten feet of the steep grade. Jimmy watched her climb, her athletic limbs working in unison, scaling the rocks to the top of the precipice.
“Oh, my God…” she said with a shocked look on her face.
Jimmy had expected some sort of a reaction. This definitely wasn’t it. He scrambled up the rocks and joined her at the top.
“Get down!” he hissed. “Oh, shit!”
Julie did as he asked, her face a mask of confusion. “What’s going on?” she asked. What are they doing, down there?”
Jimmy dared another look over the edge. He quickly ducked back down. “They lied,” he said, feeling the shock spread inside his body. “It was all one big lie.
Down below in the sleepy little town of Ely, the National Guard had returned. A convoy of Greyhound and school buses lined up, and the passengers were being ushered into the back of them and the dozens of military trucks that lined the streets. They heard a shot, then another. Jimmy groaned and reached out and took Julie’s hand. “Come on,” he whispered. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Why would they do that?”
Jimmy felt the anger returning. “Think about it. Everyone came back of their own free will. You’ve got to hand it those dirty rat bastards. We can’t trust them ever again.”
“I don’t understand it, Jimmy,” Julie said. “Where will we go?”
“We’re going back to Ken’s,” said Jimmy. “Where else can we go?”
And they climbed back down in the direction they’d come. When they reached the forest, they began to run. Jimmy felt the ice running through his veins. He should’ve known better, he thought bitterly. There was no happily ever after, not for him anyhow. He wondered if there ever would be.
The End
About the author:
Nicholas Antinozzi is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and currently resides in St. Paul. Be sure to check out Desperate Times 2.
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