by A. American
She nodded meekly. “I’m fine. We took a couple of the wounded to the clinic.” She clenched her eyes closed and shook her head. “There are so many people hurt so bad.”
I patted her back. “I Know. I’m just glad we’re alright.”
She went over to Mel and hugged her. “I’m so sorry about Bobbie.”
Mel held her for a moment, taking comfort in the embrace. After a pause, she replied, “Thank you. I’m just glad no one else was really hurt.”
As we walked back to the armory, I talked with Thad. He looked down at himself and said, “I can’t believe nothing happened to me. One shell exploded right in front of me. I mean, right in front of me.”
“You’ve got an angel watching over you,” I replied. I put my hands over my ears. “I thought my ear drums ruptured. But my hearing is coming back.”
Thad half smiled, “I’m really surprised you didn’t get hit. You know, you seem to have a knack for it.”
He made me laugh and I slapped his back, “It’s because you were there. I was collaterally protected.” I cocked my head to the side and looked up at him, “It was purely by accident, mind you.”
As we walked, Alex, the man Aric and I had met at the abandoned Publix, walked up. “What the hell was all that?”
“I believe it was a mortar attack by some Cuban soldiers,” I replied.
“But why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Target-rich environment maybe. But we’ve got a couple of them and we’ll find out.”
He looked at the ground as he walked and asked, “I don’t mean to sound like an asshole. But you said you’d bring me some shoes. I was headed to the park when it started. I’m guessing the shoes were in the truck that burned?”
I nodded. “All the shoes were in the truck. But not yours.” I pointed at the fuel truck sitting in front of the armory. “Yours are in there.”
We walked over to the truck and I took out the boots and handed them to him. Then I took out the bag of food I’d set aside for him as well. “I had your stuff in here.”
He looked at it all and said, “Wow. This is more than I expected. Thank you is not enough, but thank you.”
“No worries. I hope they help you.”
He sat down on the ground and pulled off his tattered shoes and put the boots on. Mel and the girls were getting into the truck. It would be a little crowded, but we’d manage for the short ride home.
Standing up, Alex looked at the boots and announced, “These feel amazing. Again, thank you.”
I looked over my shoulder as I helped Mel into the truck. “No problem. Good luck to you.”
Aric walked up as I was getting into the truck, “I’m going to go find Shane. I want to see the body, to see if it is him.”
I nodded. “Alright. Let me know.”
We convoyed back home. There was a lot of work to do. Many graves needed to be dug. But in today’s world, you buried your own. Bobbie’s body was in a body bag in the bed of the little red truck. Danny sat in the back with her as Thad drove. I was really worried about him. They’d been together for better than twenty years. It was going to be hard on him.
I parked the truck and we walked home together in silence. As we came through the gate, Little Bit said she wanted to watch a movie. I imagine she needed to distract her mind. Can’t blame her, I’d like to as well. Inside, Lee Ann and Taylor piled onto the couch with Little Bit to distract themselves.
“Are you ok, babe?” I asked Mel.
She was sitting on the foot of the bed and nodded. I sat down beside her, putting my arm around her. “Are you sure?”
She wiped her nose with a rag she fidgeted with in her hand. “I’m so very thankful my family wasn’t hurt.” She broke down and started to cry, “But I can’t believe she’s gone.”
I rested my chin on her head. “I know. Of all the people. I would never have imagined this kind of thing would happen to her.” I thought back over the years. Danny and Bobbie had been a constant part of our lives. For as long as I’d known Mel, I’d known them. Our kids grew up with the two of them and were thought of as part of our family. Their house was always a safe and happy place for our girls.
“I’m going to go check on the girls,” I said as I stood up.
Mel nodded and crawled up onto the bed. “Okay. I’m going to lie down for a while.”
I looked back at her from the door and saw her holding the rag to her face as she cried. I felt so horrible for her, but the only thing that could help this was time. I quietly closed the door and went into the living room. The girls were sitting closely together and I leaned over the back of the couch.
“You guys ok?” I asked.
Little Bit looked up, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “Is Aunt Bobbie dead?”
I gently rubbed her head. “I’m afraid so, sweetie.” Lee Ann and Taylor both sniffled.
Little Bit started to cry again. “I don’t want her to be dead.”
I leaned over and kissed her head. “I don’t either, baby.”
“Am I going to die?”
“No baby. We all die eventually, but you’re not going to die, not anytime soon.” Trying to get her mind off it, I asked, “What are you watching?”
Sniffling, she replied, “The Sponge Bob Movie.”
I tried to smile, but it was forced. “I like that one. I have some things to do and I’ll come back and finish it with you.”
“Okay,” she whimpered.
“You guys take care of her,” I said to her sisters.
Taylor looked up; she’d been crying as well. “We will. Where’s Mom?”
“She’s resting.”
Turning her attention back to the cartoon, she replied, “Okay.”
I went outside and stood on the porch, wiping my eyes. The dogs could sense something was going on and whined, thumping their tails on the porch. I sat down on the bench and all three tried to put their heads into my lap. I patted their heads and scratched their ears for a minute. But there was an unpleasant task that needed to be addressed, and waiting wouldn’t make it any better.
Going over to Danny’s, the porch was crowded with people. The mood was naturally depressed and I didn’t speak to anyone as I went into the house. Danny was sitting at the dining table as Doc tended to his hand. It was a mess. The pinky and ring finger were gone, as well as part of the palm. Doc was trying to stitch it up as best he could.
But Danny wasn’t there. He was someplace else entirely. I know what Doc was doing had to hurt, but he never so much as flinched. Maybe it was shock. Of course, it was shock. Who wouldn’t be in shock after something like that?
I could see Thad on the back porch with Kay and Mary, and I went through the door. They were talking when I came out and looked up at me. I nodded at Thad, “I think we need to take care of this right away.”
“We were just talking about that,” Kay said.
“I’ll get the shovels,” Thad said as he stood up. I was happy to see he’d changed clothes.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Still in the truck,” Mary replied.
I nodded and went back into the house. Doc was finishing what little he could do and I pulled a chair out and sat down beside Danny. “Hey, buddy. Thad and I are going to take care of Bobbie. Is there any place you’d prefer?” There was no right way to ask such a question.
He looked at his bandaged hand and stood up, “I’ll show you. I’m going to do it.”
Doc reached out and grabbed his arm, “You can’t use—” he paused and rephrased what he was about to say. “Your hand needs some time for the wound to close.”
Danny looked at his hand again and replied, “I have to do it.”
Doc looked at me and I shrugged. He shook his head and said, “Let me take another look at it
afterwards.”
I went out the backdoor with Danny and into the yard. Near the pond was a birdfeeder that had been there as long as they had lived in the house. It was one of the first things Danny had put up, so Bobbie could watch the birds when she was in the kitchen or sitting on the porch.
“Right here,” he said, pointing to the ground in front of the feeder.
I nodded, “It’s a good place.”
Thad came around the house with a couple of shovels. He held one out to me, but Danny took it, Thad looked at me, and I replied with a look that didn’t require any further explanation. He set to work breaking the ground. Initially, Danny tried to break the earth as well. But with only one hand, he couldn’t very well. Instead, he and Thad got into a rhythm of Thad breaking the new ground and Danny scooping it out as best he could.
I offered once to give him a break, but Danny refused, determined to bury his wife. So, I left them and walked over to the shed where I found a flat shovel and returned to help. By the time I got back, Danny’s bandage was soaked through and blood from his hand dripped into the grave we were digging. It was almost symbolic in a way, part of him would be there with her.
We worked for some time to get the hole deep enough and perfectly shaped. The sides were clean and the corners nearly perfect. It was more than a hole after all. When we were finished, Thad and I went to the truck and slid the OD green bag out and carried her back to the spot, laying her down for a moment so Thad could get down in the hole. Danny interjected, “I don’t want her in this. I want something better.”
“This is the best, Danny. Really,” I replied.
But Danny was insistent and wouldn’t let up until Thad reached out and took him by the shoulder. “Danny, my friend, trust me when I say this. You do not want to see her like this. Remember her how she was. Not like this.”
Danny hadn’t seen her body. We had quickly put Bobbie into the body bag before he could see her for this very reason. I didn’t want to see, but as his friend, I really didn’t want him to. It was a horrible sight that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Especially someone I cared for.
Thad’s words had an impact on Danny. He knew Thad spoke from personal experience. He knew he’d buried not only his wife, but also his son in the same condition. And he’d done it alone. At least Danny wasn’t alone. We couldn’t change Thad’s past, but at least we could help Danny deal with it.
As tears began to run down his face, Danny nodded, “You’re right. You’re right.” He knelt down and put his hand on the bag, running it back and forth. I was struck by it, for I knew what Bobbie looked like under his hand. My stomach began to protest, the whole image threatening a loss of control. But I fought it. I didn’t want that as the memory of his wife’s burial either.
Thad stepped gently into the grave and Danny, with his good hand, and I helped lower her down. Once she was in her resting place, Thad carefully climbed out and we stood there for a minute in silence, giving Danny the opportunity to say whatever he needed to. He didn’t utter anything aloud, but I was certain he was saying what he needed to silently.
When Danny stood up and grabbed a shovel, Thad and I did likewise and we filled the grave in. When the work was done, Danny’s shovel was completely covered in blood, all the way down to the spade. Doc sat on the porch and watched the process. Once he saw we were done, he came out and put an arm around Danny. “Come on back to the house so I can clean that up,” he said.
Danny didn’t protest and the two of them went back to the house together. Thad and I carried the shovels back to the shed, stopping by the hose to clean Danny’s shovel. But his blood had stained the wood; it would be a lasting reminder of the day.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have a service for Bobbie,” I said as I used my hand to scrub the handle of the shovel.
“That’d be good. We needed to get this done as soon as possible,” Thad replied.
I nodded. “It needed to be done.”
“How’s Mel taking it?”
Turning off the water, I shook my hands as we walked towards the shed, “Rough. They’ve known each other their entire lives. The kids grew up with them their entire lives. It’s tough on all of them.”
Thad leaned his shovel into a corner of the shed. “I can relate to how they feel.”
“I know you can, my friend. I’m sorry for everyone.”
Thad looked up into the sky and ran his hands through his hair. “Maybe someday it will calm down.”
“Maybe. But in the meantime, you really need a haircut.”
Thad smiled weakly. “Yeah. Mary said the same thing.”
“I’ve got clippers, you know.”
“I’ll come over later and let you sheer me,” he replied, again with a weak smile.
“I’m going to go over and talk to Sarge. They’ve got those three prisoners. I want to see what they’ve found out.”
“I’ll come with you.”
We went back to the house. The smell of cooking filled the air as we stepped inside. Jess and Fred were preparing supper, under Kay’s supervision naturally. She sat at the bar, keeping watch over the goings-on in her kitchen. The thought of her kitchen struck me. It was Bobbie’s kitchen. It was her kitchen before today anyway.
Aric was sitting at the table. I looked over and asked, “Hey, we’re going to see the old man. You want to go?”
He was immediately on his feet. “Damn right I do.”
Thad stepped over to Kay. “How you doing, Miss Kay?”
She reached out and touched his arm. “I’m fine, Thad. Thank you for asking.”
“If you need anything, be sure to let us know.”
She patted his arm, “I will.”
We left the house and headed down the road. It was getting late and the sun was starting its final descent. With the sun closer to the horizon, the temperature dipped ever so slightly. It was a refreshing change, little as it was. Pulling my bandanna from my pocket, I mopped my forehead and said, “Damn, I can’t wait for winter.”
“Then you’ll be looking forward to spring,” Thad replied.
“Nope,” I replied as I stuffed the cloth back into my pocket. “I love cold weather.”
“What the hell are you doing here then?” Aric asked.
“I have no earthly idea. I’ve left several times. But I always came back for some reason.”
“I couldn’t wait to get here,” Aric replied. “I grew up in the Midwest. Snow is pretty to some people. Usually, it’s people that don’t have to shovel that shit before school in the morning.”
I looked up into the fading sky where countless insects darted to and fro. “I wish three feet would fall right now.”
Aric howled. “That’d make this walk real pleasant!”
I laughed. “We wouldn’t be sweating like we are!”
“I’ll take the heat,” Thad said. “I like the heat. Never was a fan of the cold. Winter here in Florida isn’t too bad. I like it.”
As we passed the bunker, Wallner stepped out. “Hey, guys.”
I smiled, “Looks like you’re still here.”
He smiled broadly. “Permanently now, thanks to Top.”
“I’m glad to have you fellas. But I feel bad you always have to be out here.”
He waved me off. “We’re good. We work in three eight-hour shifts. Believe me, we’re all good with it. The food is better here. We’re in a real house, which we’ve cleaned up nicely now.” He nodded at Thad, “And thanks to Thad here, we even have running water now. This is great!”
“Glad to do it for you fellas,” Thad replied.
“So, don’t worry about us.” His tone shifted. “I’m really sorry about your loss. We didn’t know Bobbie very well. She brought us supper here while you guys were gone and when we went to the house to eat, she was always very
nice. It’s terrible.”
I nodded. “Thanks. We’re on our way now to see what the old man’s got out of the perpetrators so far.”
“We saw them when they brought them in. What are you going to do with them?”
“Remains to be seen,” I replied.
“They’re an invading force. What do you think we’ll do with them?” Aric asked.
Wallner nodded. “There were lots of rumors about what happened out here. Sheffield was always ranting about it.”
I snorted. “Yeah. He’s a peculiar sort.”
“Now that Top is running things, it’s going to be different,” Wallner replied.
“What?” Thad asked.
I looked at him. “He doesn’t want a big deal made of it. But he has just been promoted to full bird Colonel.”
“What!” Aric shouted. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “But don’t say anything. He really doesn’t want anyone to make a big deal about it. Sheffield still runs things in town. But he now has to answer to the old man.”
“I’ll bet that didn’t sit well with Sheffield,” Thad said.
“Actually, he was fine with it. Relieved, actually.”
“I can see that,” Wallner said. “He was always stressed out. He may be a Captain, but he’s no officer.”
I smiled. “Yeah, Sarge said he was a military hobbyist.”
Wallner laughed and pointed at me, “That’s it! That’s it exactly!”
“Alright, buddy, we gotta go check on him,” I held my hand out and shook his. “We appreciate what you guys are doing.”
He gripped my hand tighter. “It’s our pleasure. Really.”
As we headed down the lane towards Sarge’s house, Aric said, “I can’t believe they made him a Colonel.”
“I laughed out loud when I heard it. Pissed him off, but all I could picture was an old southern Colonel, ya know.”
“Like Colonel Sanders?” Thad asked seriously.
I nodded and wagged a finger at him. “Yes. But don’t start on the chicken thing. We’ve already had that discussion.” Thad smiled in reply.