by A. American
Jamie was helping Jess pin the dress up. I looked around and asked, “Where’s Danny?”
“He’s out back behind the pond,” Kate replied without looking up from her mixing bowl.
I didn’t reply and quickly left the way I came. Nothing good was going to come from me being in there. I walked out to the pond and could see Danny on the back side of it swinging a weed-eater. I shook my head because he shouldn’t have been doing that. I walked out and he shut the machine down when he saw me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked.
He looked around, as though the answer to my question were obvious. “I’m cleaning up back here so we can have the wedding here, near the pond. I thought it would look nice.”
I nodded at the Stihl in his hands and said, “You shouldn’t be doing that. Your hand isn’t ready for work yet.”
He shrugged. “It’s been doing fine today.”
I looked around at the brush piles he’d created and asked, “Want some help?”
He handed me the Stihl and I went to work cutting the brush down. We worked the rest of the afternoon together. By the time we were done, the back side of the pond looked nearly as good as a manicured lawn. My girls came around the house in the little red truck. Danny had sent them out earlier in the day to find chairs. He wanted the plastic type of lawn chairs that nearly everyone had a couple of.
The girls helped us set the chairs up, forming two neat rows. Danny said he had an idea and went to the shed. He returned with a piece of rolled-up carpet on his shoulder. It was a chunk of green indoor/outdoor carpet, and we laid it out in front of the chairs.
“This looks really nice,” Taylor said.
I wiped my sweaty forehead and looked at the product of our efforts. “It’s not bad. Not bad at all.”
“I think they’re really going to like it,” Lee Ann said.
I looked at Danny, “You ready to call it a day?”
He looked tired and nodded. “Yeah. I think we’ve done everything we can. It looks pretty good.”
We piled the tools we’d used, the Stihl, rakes and pitchforks, into the bed of the little truck. The girls drove it back over to the shed to put everything away while I walked with Danny to the house. Mary was out of her dress and she and Jess were sitting on the sofa stitching up the adjustments on the dress. They were laughing and talking as they worked.
Danny headed upstairs, saying he was going to get cleaned up. I sat down at the bar. Kay was still in the kitchen, but it appeared the baking was done. Not only from the wonderful smell in the air, but the fact that the kitchen was cleaned up. She was always so fastidious about cleaning up as soon as she was done cooking. Only thing in the kitchen now was a large pot sitting on the stove, slowly simmering.
“What’s in the kettle?” I asked.
“Tonight’s supper. I just made a goulash. Something easy,” she replied.
“Cool. Have you seen Mel?” She shook her head. “I’m going to go back to the house,” I said as I headed for the door.
Perez was still on the porch, his hat pulled down over his eyes and his feet stretched out in front of him. I slapped his shoulder as I passed him and said, “Keep up the good work.”
He adjusted in his chair and mumbled, “I’m on it.”
Mel was sitting on the couch when I came in. I looked around and asked, “Where’s Fred?”
“She went home. We finished the dress and she took it with her.”
I sat down beside her. “It’s really nice you gave it to her.”
“It’s not like I’m going to wear it again.”
I patted her leg, “I sure as hell hope not!”
She smiled and stood up. “It’s hard to meet people today. You want some tea?”
“You’re not funny,” I replied. “And yes, thank you.” I landed a playful kick on her ass as she passed me.
She returned from the kitchen with a glass of tea for me and an ice water for herself. “What’s with all those tubs of ice in the freezer?”
I took a sip before replying. “I don’t know. Mikey is up to something.”
“That’s what you said before. You still don’t know what he’s up to?”
“Nope,” I replied. Then I figured this was as a good a time as any to break the news to her. “I’ve got some bad news.”
She looked at me with genuine concern. “What?”
“Meat Head doesn’t have a sister anymore.”
She sat up and looked at me. “What do you mean? What happened to her?”
I told her the story of the dogs coming home and the way they acted. Of how I followed them into the woods.
“What happened to her?”
I took her hand and said, “Someone killed her.”
“What? Why?”
I couldn’t tell her why. “I brought her home and buried her out back.”
Mel got to her feet and went to the kitchen window. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you bury her already?”
“You didn’t want to see her like that,” I said as I came up behind her. I pointed out the spot where she was resting. “She’s right there.”
She turned around and looked at me. “Who did it?”
“Don’t worry about them. I took care of them.”
“You kill them? How many were there?”
I took her hand. “Look, I don’t really want to talk about it. Just know it’s done. It’s over.”
Mel looked back out the window. “What are we going to tell Ashley?”
“I was thinking of telling her she was bit by a snake. I don’t want to tell her she was shot by someone.”
“I don’t like to lie to her. But, it’s probably better that way.”
“Come on. Let’s go get some dinner. I want to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
By the time we made it back to Danny’s, the place had changed. Everyone was there, even Wallner. He said his guys were on duty and he wanted to come down and collect their dinner. We stopped in the yard to talk to Doc. He had the Geiger counter out and was taking readings.
“What’s it look like today?” I asked.
“Not much. Just barely above background.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Mel asked.
Doc nodded. “Oh yeah, real good. It’s what we want to see.”
“You heard any more about that unit they were sending to Tampa?” I asked.
“No,” Doc replied and nodded towards the porch. “Grumpy up there probably has. He’s been talking with Eglin on the radio quite a bit.”
I looked at the porch and asked, “What’s up?”
Doc shrugged, “Got no idea. He don’t tell me and I don’t ask. Less shit I have to worry about.” Doc then looked at Mel, “Sorry, Mel.”
Mel laughed, “Ronnie, I live with him. I can handle a little shit.”
Doc snorted, “Living with him, you gotta be able to handle truckloads of shit.”
“Thanks, buddy,” I replied, “thanks for that.”
As he started to roll the cord up for the remote sensor on the Geiger counter, he said, “What are friends for?”
As we walked towards the porch, Mel asked, “Who’s performing the ceremony? If Sarge is giving the girls away, who’s actually going to perform the service?”
“I have no idea,” I replied.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s all taken care of,” Sarge barked from the porch.
“Ok, then who’s doing it?” I asked.
“I just told you! Do you ever pay attention?”
I looked at Mel and palmed my forehead, “That’s right, don’t worry about it; he’s coming. I love that guy.”
Mel shook her head and said, “I’ll leave you boys
to your games.” Then I headed inside.
I went up on the porch. Perez was still snoozing in the rocking chair with his feet stretched out, the heel of one boot resting on the toe of the other. I kicked the top one off as I passed him.
From under his hat, he muttered, “Aye, carbon!”
Sarge looked over at him and asked, “Has he done anything today?”
“Yeah,” I replied with great exaggeration. “He’s been riding herd on the kids all day.”
Sarge snorted. “Only person better for that would be Mikey.”
“Mmm, yeah, I’m gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you there. He’s been acting really flaky lately. Did I mention he’s been having a problem with his TPS reports?”
The old man cocked his head to the side and looked at me, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You don’t watch many movies, do you?”
“No. Hollywood is full of fruits and nuts.”
As we talked, Dalton and Mike walked up. Dalton was filthy, covered in sweat and smelling like a forest fire. “What the hell have you been doing?” I asked.
“Been working, my precious.”
I laughed, “That’s funny.”
“What’s funny? Him calling you precious?” Sarge asked. “Seems a little quirtzy to me.”
Mike looked at Sarge and said, “You really need to get out more. You’re like a troop of the seven dwarfs, but they’re all Grumpy.”
Sarge cocked his head to the side and asked, “Ain’t you got some crayons that need eatin’ somewhere? Or maybe some windows to lick?”
Mike puffed out his chest, “I’ll have you know, I prefer paste. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I smell something wonderful coming from the house.”
Wallner came out the door as Mike was going in. He carried a large pot and several bowls. “Man, this smells so damn good!” He announced as he came onto the porch.
“You guys coming to the wedding tomorrow?” I asked.
“Someone needs to be down at the bunker.”
“We can let it go for a little while tomorrow,” Sarge said. “You and your boys come on up here in the morning. There’s going to be cake and everything.”
“No shit?” He asked with genuine surprise. “That woman of yours sure can cook, Top.”
“She ain’t my woman!” Sarge barked back. Catching Wallner off guard.
He looked at me and I mouthed the words, yes, she is, while I nodded my head. He smiled and said, “We’d love to come up. I’m just worried about leaving the place unsecured.”
“Don’t worry about it. It won’t take more than an hour or so,” Sarge replied.
Wallner nodded, “Alright then.” He looked at Dalton and said, “You look like you been working hard today.”
“The fires of the forge are hot, my friend.”
I looked up at Dalton and asked, “What are you forging now?”
He winked at me, “You’ll see.”
“I’m gonna take the guys their supper,” Wallner said as he headed off.
Sarge got up from his chair and stretched, in the way old men will do, and said, “Let’s go get us some supper before that window-licker eats it all.”
“Smashing idea, old chap!” Dalton shouted, “I’m simply famished!”
Sarge looked him up and down for a moment before deciding, “You’re one weird fucker.”
“Mmmm, indeed,” Dalton replied.
I kicked Perez’s feet, “Come on there, poppie. Supper is ready.”
He lifted his hat and rubbed his eyes, saying, “Call me what you want. Just don’t call me late for supper.”
As usual, dinner was a raucous affair. Maybe a little more so this time because of all the excitement about the forthcoming weddings. I sat at the table with the kids, delighting in their infectious happiness. These kids were always happy. Despite the loss of Bobbie, Jace and Edie were doing well. Maybe it was just a fact of the new life. That loss was inevitable. Maybe so much had happened to them that it just didn’t affect them the same. But sitting here at a table with bowls of steaming goulash, they laughed and fidgeted in their chairs as they ate.
I asked about their bows and arrows. Little Bit said she was the best shot, of course. And of course Jace disagreed with her. But I talked and played with them at the table. I looked around to see Thad and Mary sitting together, along with Fred and Aric. Miss Kay and Jess were also at their table. Mel was sitting with Jamie, Danny, Mike and Doc. Perez was also at the table.
The old man sat with Miss Kay and Dalton and Ian at another table. All the talk was about tomorrow. Even the kids were talking about the wedding. I was beginning to wish I’d never brought it up. But it was a good thing. I was making people happy. Adding a bright spot to our world.
I got up from the kids’ table, tickling Jace and Little Bit as I did and getting ear-piercing squeals from them. Carrying my bowl into the kitchen, I bumped into Mike coming out the door. He asked about the ice. “It’s at the house. What the hell are you up to?”
He gave me a wicked smile. “Oh, dude, you’re going to love it. I promise, no bullshit, really.”
“Well, it’s at the house when you need it.”
“Can we go get it real quick? I need to get it back to my place.”
I shrugged, “Sure. Let’s go.”
“I’ll meet you at your place with the truck,” he said as he clapped his hands and headed for the door.
I told Mel I was going home, she said she’d be along shortly with the girls. I headed back to the house and Mike was already in the driveway when I got there. He had the old man’s Hummer and was pulling a couple of large coolers from the back of it.
“Let’s put it in here,” he said as he slid one onto the porch.
I went into the house and started carrying the containers out. Some just released their ice into the coolers, while other containers simply had to be tossed into the cooler because we couldn’t get the ice loose. Mike promised to return the containers.
“That’s all of it,” I said as I dropped the last piece in.
Mike looked into the two coolers, “That’s perfect. It’ll be awesome.”
I still didn’t know what the hell he was up to and asked, “The old man know what you’re up to?”
“Sorry, bro, this is top secret, need to know only kind of shit.”
I waved him off, “Whatever there, Cloak and Dagger.”
Mike quickly left, eager to complete whatever sort of skullduggery he was up to. I was now alone in the house, and I didn’t feel like going back to Danny’s, so I just flopped onto the couch. I stretched out and closed my eyes, intending to relax until Mel and the girls came home. And I must have really relaxed. Because I was out when they came through the door. Mel was complaining it was dark and called for someone to turn on a light.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My head was a little thick and it took me a minute to realize what was going on. Getting up, I said, “Sorry, babe. Guess I fell asleep.” And I clicked on a lamp.
“You girls get ready for bed,” Mel said as she closed the door. “That means take a bath!”
“Ah, come on, Mom. Do I hafta?” Little Bit asked.
“Yes, you do. You’re not wearing that pretty dress tomorrow unless you do.”
“Okay,” she grumbled as she headed down the hall.
“What are you girls wearing?” Mel asked.
“I have a nice pink dress I’m going to wear,” Taylor said.
Lee Ann held her hands out and said, “This.”
“Uh, no you’re not. Find something nice to wear,” Mel replied. With a groan, Lee Ann headed towards her room. Mel looked at me and said, “I can’t believe she hasn’t picked anything out yet.” Then her eyes narrowed and she asked, “What are you w
earing?”
I looked down and said, “I guess, not this?”
She shook her head. “No. Not that. I’ll pick something out for you.” Great, I thought.
Once everyone was cleaned up, me included, we went to bed early. Tomorrow would be busy and I was already tired. Climbing in under the sheet, I asked Mel, “What are you wearing tomorrow?”
“I’ve got a cute little outfit picked out. I need to get up early so I can get ready.”
“Don’t wake me up,” I replied.
The morning came quickly and I was awakened by a sound I hadn’t heard in a long time. A hair dryer. I looked at the bathroom door; it was closed, but I knew Mel was in there getting ready. I decided not to bother her and instead went out to the kitchen. Our chicken flock had been growing. So much so that Kay was starting to talk about culling them some. Chicken would be a nice addition to the menu. But in the meantime, they were producing incredible amounts of eggs.
We had all the eggs we wanted. And eggs in all their varieties were usually available for breakfast. And with the addition of the recent supplies, I was able to whip up a batch of breakfast burritos, kind of. If you call scrambled eggs in a tortilla a burrito. What I would give for some cheese. But it must have been enough, because it wasn’t long before the girls were rising from their beds with the aroma in the air.
As they ate, I went to check on Mel. She was in the process of putting on her war paint. Something she hadn’t done in a very long time.
“All my makeup is drying out,” she complained as she fussed with a bottle of some potion or another.
“I doubt you’ll be seeing any more, any time soon, babe.”
“All the stuff we stored and I never even thought about it,” she lamented.
I laughed, “Because it wasn’t important.”
“To you,” she grumbled back at me.
“Besides, you don’t even need it,” I said as I leaned in to kiss her.
Her hand flew up and she shouted, “Do not touch my hair! There’s no more hairspray and it took me forever to get it to look like this.”