by A. American
One of them was certain to get upset with who was going to use it first, and I wasn’t sure how to go about establishing the pecking order. Before I could say anything, Jeff said, “Okay, girls, there’s three of you and only one iPad, so you’re going to have to take turns, and I’m sure you all want to know who gets to go first.” They all nodded in agreement, smiles on their faces so wide they pushed their ears back.
Jeff reached into his pack and took out a Crown Royal bag, holding it by the gold cord and bouncing it in his hand, a faint clicking coming from it each time he did. “What you’re going to do is stick your hand in the bag and take one marble. Keep your hand closed and don’t look at it. When each of you has one you’ll put your hands out and open them to see which color you have. Whoever has the white one gets to use it first, and the other two will do it again to see who goes next, got it?”
I looked at Jeff with raised eyebrows. “I got nephews,” he said.
Jeff held out the bag and one at a time they drew their marbles. Taylor got it first, Little Bit second and Lee Ann last. Jeff handed it over to Taylor, but before they ran off I stopped them and said, “Look guys, this belongs to Mr. Jeff and it is literally irreplaceable, so treat it that way. If he comes and asks for it, give it back immediately. If there is any fighting over it, you’ll never see it again, got it?”
They nodded and ran off to Taylor’s room, shrieking as they went. I looked at Jeff and he smiled, then to Mel. Her eyebrows were raised. “What?” I asked.
“You two are starting some trouble there, you know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, probably, but they’ll have fun and it’ll take their minds off things,” I replied.
“It will do that. Now go get some wood. And when do you think you’ll get that stove put in our room?”
I shook my head, looking at Jeff, but he just shrugged and raised his hands. “Hey, man, don’t get me involved.”
We went outside and he followed me to the woodshed. On the way I asked how his carpentry skills were. His reply made me laugh. “Well, as far as IT guys are concerned, I’m an awesome carpenter.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
We filled the big green cart with wood and hauled it back to the house. As we were stacking the wood on the porch I told him that we were thinking of building a set of stocks to deal with folks who couldn’t keep out of trouble. He shook his head and commented on what a weird world we were living in now. We moved some of the wood into the rack beside the fireplace. Mel came out of the bedroom with a pillow and a couple of blankets for Jeff and laid them on the sofa. He thanked her and looked at me and said he’d be right back.
Jeff went outside and came back in with his Mosin. After handing me the rifle he gave me a Glock, then reached into his coat and drew the one in the holster and handed it to me as well. The look on my face must have revealed my surprise. “I told you I’ve got two of them,” he said.
I was looking at the first one he’d handed me. The barrel protruded out the end of the slide and the threads were hard to miss. “This what I think it’s for?” He nodded. “You have it with you?”
He nodded again and reached into a pocket of his coat and took out a Surefire suppressor and held it up for me to see. “It’s a nice little accessory,” he said with a smile before putting it back in his pocket.
Mel went back and told the girls it was time for bed. They protested, what with the new distraction they had. I came into Taylor’s room and closed the door, and Mel looked at me curiously. I told the girls that Jeff was a guest in our house, but we didn’t know him and while they were to treat him with respect, they were to also treat him like a stranger. If anything weird happened in regards to him, they were to call for help. I stressed the importance of this to them, making sure they got it. The girls all asked if they could sleep with Taylor and play with the iPad for a while. We agreed; all of them together would be better than in their separate rooms.
Mel and I went back out and I told Jeff I would get with him in the morning about our little project. He said he would keep the fire going, thanked Mel for the blankets and we headed to bed. I put Jeff’s weapons in the safe and locked it up. Mel asked if it was a good idea to let him stay. I told her I didn’t get any kind of a bad vibe from him, and I was usually pretty good at sizing someone up as soon as I met them, something she had always hated about me. Mel is very outgoing and likes to talk to people. I could be on a deserted island all alone and be fine. We could meet someone and talk to them for a while, Mel would say something like, “They were nice” and I’d reply with “He’s a douche bag and full of shit” and more often than not, I would be right.
I woke up once and looked out in the living room. The sofa was empty, so I slipped on my moose-hide wool-lined slippers and walked out. There was fresh wood on the fire. Jeff wasn’t in the bathroom, but as I passed through the kitchen I saw him on the back deck. I stepped out and Jeff said, “You can’t sleep either?” He was looking up at the sky.
“I haven’t slept through the night in so long I don’t remember what it’s like.”
“Yeah, me too.” He paused for a minute. “You ever seen stars like this?”
I looked up. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? When I was walking home, I mainly traveled at night. It’s beautiful.”
He said, “Yeah,” and just stared up into the night. He seemed lost in thought, maybe remembering something, something that might be a little painful.
“Hey, man, you alright?” I asked.
“Yeah, man, just thinking about home, about all the shit that used to be and may never be again. I lived in a world of ones and zeros, computers. That was my life, and now there’ll probably never be another one.”
“I know, but at least we’re still alive. I’ll see you in the morning.” I left him on the deck staring at the stars and went back to snuggle up next to a warm Mel.
The next morning Jeff was buried under blankets on the sofa when I came out. The fire had burned down to a bed of coals. I quietly laid a small piece of lighter wood on the coals, piled a couple of logs on and went into the kitchen. Turning the knobs on the Butterfly, I let the wicks prime while I took eggs from the fridge, filled the coffeepot from the Berkey and pulled a canned ham from the cabinet. Since I had introduced everyone to the fried mush it had become a frequent part of our breakfast, and there was some in the fridge.
I had just taken the coffee off the burner when Jeff came in rubbing his head. I said, “Mornin’, Sunshine.”
“Damn that smells good,” he looked into the pan that a couple slabs of ham and mush in it and pointed at the slices of mush. “What is that?”
“It’s called fried mush, made from cornmeal. How do you like your eggs?”
“Sunny-side up,” he replied absentmindedly as he took down a coffee cup and poured a cup. After taking a sip he let out a groan. “Damn that’s good.”
By the time Mel got up I had her plate ready and a pan full of scrambled eggs for the girls. Mel, Jeff and I sat and ate breakfast together, and amongst the three of us we killed the pot of coffee. Jeff asked if I could make another and I obliged him. We still had nearly two dozen cans, though the day was coming when it would be gone. Little Bit came out of Taylor’s room. She was wearing the jammies with the feet in ’em and was cute as hell. She had the iPad, and I could hear the theme music from Angry Birds. She came to the table and climbed up in a chair.
Mel got up and fixed her a plate of eggs and mush and set it in front of her. She didn’t even look up from the game. “We got any honey, Mom?”
“You have honey?” Jeff asked.
“Yeah, I keep bees, a couple of hives out back. It’s not a lot, but it keeps us in honey,” I replied, Jeff raised his eyebrows and nodded his head, then took another sip of his coffee.
Mel came back with the honey and set it on the table and took the iPad from Little Bit’s hands in one flui
d mom motion. “Hey!”
“Eat your breakfast.”
“I was in the middle of a game!”
“It’ll be there.”
She reluctantly picked up her fork and started to push the eggs around on her plate. I asked Jeff if he was ready to start on our little project and he hopped out of his chair. “Yeah, man, let’s go!”
I laughed at him, “Been without coffee for a while?”
“Yeah, man I don’t ever remember it making me feel like this!”
We went out to the shop and I showed him the little package that Sarge had sent home with me. Opening the laptop up, I showed him the text file and after giving him a minute to read it asked if it made any sense to him. He said it was pretty simple and he could have it ready in an hour or so. I told him the shop was his, he could use whatever he needed to get it done and that I had a couple of things to do and I’d be back later.
Going back in the house, little Ash was done with her breakfast and was sitting in front of the fireplace with the iPad glued to her fingers. I told her I was going down to Danny’s house and asked if she wanted to go. She never looked up and replied with a “nah.” Taylor came out of her room and said she wanted to go.
While she was getting dressed I put on my vest and grabbed my carbine and pistol, then thought about Jeff’s. Going to the safe, I took out his two Glocks and the Mosin and set them beside the safe. Mel was in the bathroom, and when she came out I told her where I put them and that if he asked about them to give ’em to him. She didn’t protest, just nodded and wrapped her arms around me. “This would be better if you weren’t wearing all this. Where you going?”
“I’m going down to Danny’s. We have a little project to work on. Taylor’s going with me.” I gave her a kiss and told her I’d be back later. As I walked away she swatted me on the ass. “Looking forward to it.”
Taylor was bummed when she found out we were walking, but fuel was at a premium. We went out the gate and turned right, heading into the neighborhood. She walked along, not saying anything, just looking down. “You okay?” I asked. She just shrugged her shoulders. This was her usual response when something was bothering her, and it was all the confirmation I needed. I put my arm around her and pulled her close. “What’s up?”
She shrugged her shoulders again but with a little more prodding she finally opened up. She was lonely, missed her friends from school and, more importantly, she was afraid. She was worried what was going to happen, what her life was going to be like and if she going to be able to go to college. I tried to reassure her but was honest about the fact that we didn’t know. I told her not to worry right now. We were all still together and I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. She asked if she could go to her friend Rene’s house. She was Taylor’s age and lived on one of the side roads we were approaching.
I turned onto the little dirt road and we walked down it toward Rene’s house. I knew Rene’s dad, though not well. His name was Tom and I had no idea what he did for a living. There was smoke coming from the little tin stack. Like many houses out here, Rene’s family’s had a wood stove in the living room that was more for decoration and setting the cozy scene on a cold night than to actually heat the house.
“Looks like they’re home,” I said and jostled her shoulder.
“Hey, Tom!” I called out as we approached the house. I didn’t want to get shot at dropping by to see a neighbor.
The front door opened, and the long barrel of a shotgun slid out the crack. Behind it I could see a figure but couldn’t make out the face. “Hey, Tom,” I said with a wave and waited for him to realize it was me. After a moment the door opened and Tom stepped out on the small porch, closing the door behind him. He set the butt of the shotgun on the deck, holding it by the barrel. “Hi, Morgan.” He was sporting a full beard and looked thin; his clothes were hanging from him.
We walked up to him, stopping at the foot of the steps to the small deck. “Hey, Tom, Taylor wanted to visit with Rene. Is she around?”
He shuffled his feet a couple of times and said, “Yeah, she’s here, it’d probably do her good to see Taylor. Go on in, she’s in her room.” Tom opened the door and Taylor bounded up the stairs. After she was in, he shut the door again.
“Is she all right?” I asked.
His lips began to quiver a bit a tear ran down his cheek. “Uh, no, she’s not well. You know, she was always so thin, and I think she’s starving to death. She’s so weak and can’t hardly stand up without getting light-headed.” His voice cracked as he talked.
“You guys out of food?”
He huffed. “We’ve been out of food for weeks. We’ve been eating the horse feed.”
“Didn’t you go to the community meals that Mark put on, the food from the county?”
The shame he felt was obvious; he couldn’t look at me. “No, I was embarrassed for everyone to know I couldn’t take care of my family. And now Rene is so sick.”
“Can I see her?”
Tom looked up and wiped his eyes then sniffled. “Yeah, come on in.” He opened the door and we went in.
Taylor was sitting beside Rene on her bed. She looked horribly thin. Taylor looked like she was about to cry. I grabbed Tom by the arm and walked out of the room. Once we were in the living room I told him I was going home to get some things for him, for her. He protested, saying he couldn’t take anything from me, and I snapped. “This isn’t a fucking offer! Do you see her, I mean do you really see her? I have two twelve-packs of Ensure at home. I’m going to get those and you’re going to start pouring that into her. I’ll get you some other food for her too, for you and your wife too, and you will eat it, you got it?”
He was crying openly now, nodding his head. Rene’s mom was sitting on the couch. She was crying too, and just like Tom and Rene she was sickly thin. I left the house and jogged back home.
Chapter 25
When Thad finished, he slid his ass forward in the chair and leaned back. At this point he just didn’t give a shit what happened. Captain Taylor had listened to Thad’s story with great interest, occasionally making notes on a little pad. When Thad relaxed, Taylor rocked back in his chair, lifting the front legs off the ground and cupping his hands behind his head. He sucked his teeth for a minute, looking intently at Thad.
“Thad, if I cut those cuffs off you, are you going to give me any trouble?”
Without moving, Thad replied, “Not a bit.”
Taylor stood up and walked around the table, motioning for Thad to stand. Thad stood up and heard the click of the flex cuffs being cut. He rubbed his wrists and rolled his shoulders against the stiffness they had caused. His elbow was particularly uncomfortable, and he pulled his shirtsleeve up and looked at it. Taylor looked over and said, “That doesn’t look so good. What happened?”
Thad told him about the shootout at the house. He didn’t tell him about executing the girl; he didn’t want to remember it and damn sure didn’t want to tell anyone else about it.
“Tell you what, walk with me over to the tent with the medics and let them look at it and I’ll get you something to eat. You hungry?”
Thad hadn’t thought about food in a long time, and until Taylor mentioned it he didn’t realize how hungry he was. Now he was starving. He nodded and followed Taylor out of the tent. They walked through a series of tents. The path between them was lit with those little solar landscape lights. Thad made a mental note of that; it could come in handy later. Taylor stepped into another tent and Thad followed him. Inside there was an examination table in the center with tables and shelves around the sides. Medical supplies were stacked up everywhere, and two paramedics sat in a couple of folding camp chairs in the light of a Coleman lantern.
“Guys, Thad here has a bullet wound I’d like you to look at,” Taylor said, pointing to Thad’s arm.
The two men stood up and asked Thad to sit on the edge of t
he table. He did and they started the process of exposing his arm. When one of them reached for his shears, Thad told him to wait and stripped out of his shirt; he didn’t have many. They asked the usual questions, and he answered them as best he could. When they asked what caliber it was, he said he didn’t know if it was a bullet fragment or a piece of a Ford.
The wound was infected. The two medics cleaned it, a painful process that Thad endured without complaint, and then dressed the wound. After asking if he was allergic to any medications and, being told no, they gave him a bottle of penicillin and told him to take it three times a day. Thad said he would and turned to leave. Taylor was gone, so Thad stepped out after thanking the medics. Back outside he looked around and heard a voice call him from behind. He saw Taylor waving at him from the flap of another tent and walked that way.
Taylor held the flap open and Thad walked in. There was a long table on one side full of big silver trays typical of a buffet. Under each one sat a can of Sterno, the blue flame licking at the bottom. This tent was lit with some lights, the kind from a construction site: little yellow cages strung out on a cord. Taylor pushed Thad toward the tables, other people, mostly in uniforms, were sitting at other tables in rows inside the tent, eating. Most didn’t even take notice of him. Thad picked a paper plate and went through the line. There were scrambled eggs, institutional-grade bacon (but still bacon!), potatoes and a big vat of grits. Thad filled his plate and took a cup of orange juice and looked for a place to sit.
Taylor was right behind him and guided him to a table with two men sitting at it. They took the two free seats and sat down. Thad set to work on his plate immediately. The other three men chatted amongst themselves while Thad ate and he paid them no mind. Thad’s big elbows were on the edge of the table and his head hung over his plate. After his second trip through the serving line, Thad dropped his fork onto the plate and finally sat back.
“Damn, I guess you was hungry!” Taylor said.