They talked some more and Mark felt his eyelids growing heavy. “Look,” he said, “we still have another hour until daylight. I want to catch a little sleep. I could set you up on my sofa, it’s really comfortable.”
Tina yawned and nodded her head. “Thanks,” she said. “I didn’t want to go home and be alone in that big house. A couple hours of sleep sounds great. I’m sorry for talking your ear off, Mark. You’re a good friend.”
“You would do the same for me.”
“You know what? I would.”
Mark stood up and walked over to the closet. He pulled out a brand new blanket and pillow and handed them to Tina. “Sleep tight,” he said.
“You too,” she replied.
Mark picked up a candle and blew out all of the others, except the one that sat on the coffee table. He then walked up the wooden stairs and into his bedroom. He was exhausted and the sight of his own bed caused him to smile. He hadn’t had a conversation like the one he had just had, since his days in the Marines; even then, those talks had been with men. He thought about what they had talked about and despite what had happened, he felt good about their talk. He liked Tina and he could tell how much she had appreciated his company. Mark thought of that as he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Mark awoke to the sound of children playing. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his alarm clock, which he was happy to see was blinking 12:00. He sat up and walked over to the dresser and picked up his watch and found out that it was after ten O’clock. He then went to the bedroom window and saw Tina and Anita standing outside, standing guard over their combined brood of children. He wasn’t surprised to see that Anita had ventured out of the shelter to join her sister, but he was surprised to see Larry step out of his garage, with Glick following him.
Mark showered and dressed. He then walked downstairs and put on a pot of coffee and began frying up some eggs. After breakfast, Mark took his coffee into the living room and after saying a short prayer, he turned on the television. The test pattern was gone and the news anchors had returned. Mark tuned into CNN and caught up on what had happened overnight. Mark had been correct in his summation that the electrical and media blackouts had been brought on by a Presidential Order. But there had been big changes while he had slept. Mysteriously, Russia had rescinded its war declaration, saying it had been a mistake. Rumors were swirling around Washington that China had stepped in and caused this change of heart.
American troops were being airlifted out of Syria, which was no longer seen as being a security threat. Very little was mentioned about casualty levels. The withdrawal of troops caused the Iranians to also rescind their declaration of war, but instead of admitting their mistake, they were claiming victory. In turn, Israel and the United Kingdom had backed away from their threats.
Only North Korea stood in the way of world peace. Conditions there were only continuing to escalate. Two mortar shells had landed in a crowded market in Seoul and South Korean troops had immediately retaliated by raining down rocket fire on the position where the mortars had been launched. Early estimates of the casualties in Seoul were in the hundreds.
Mark watched the news for nearly an hour. Washington was urging citizens to return to work and to resume their daily activities, claiming that the threat had passed. Finally, the commercial breaks caused Mark to get up from the couch and shut off the television. While he had been happy to hear the news, he wasn’t buying that things were as hunky-dory as the media was claiming. He walked to the kitchen window and saw Larry and Tina, walking the circumference of the cul de sec, arms around each other. Mark wasn’t sure what to make of that, either. He quickly decided that it was none of his business. If Tina had forgiven Larry, that was no concern of his.
Still, like it or not, their apparent reconciliation made him uncomfortable. Tina had spent the night at his house and what had Larry made of that? Mark hoped Larry could see the truth in what had happened. He decided that if Larry began dropping innuendos, he would punch him in the nose. There was no place for that. With that thought on his mind, he watched as Larry and Tina circled around and headed down his driveway. They wanted to clear the air and Mark was happy for it. He met them at the door. “Hey Mark,” Larry said.
“Hi Larry, Tina, you guys want some coffee?”
“That would be great,” said Tina, “thank you.”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Larry. “Thanks man.”
“Pull up a chair,” said Mark, who turned to fetch a couple of coffee mugs from out of the cupboard.
“Look,” said Larry, “I want to apologize for my behavior last night. I was drunk and I’m not making any excuses for my actions. There is no excuse. I want to thank you for being here for Tina. You’re a good friend.”
Mark was happy to hear him say that. “I’m glad to hear that you two are going to work through this; that is, I’m assuming that’s what you’re planning to do?”
Tina nodded her head. “Don’t ask me why,” she said, “maybe it’s because I wasn’t going to throw away fifteen years of marriage on one stupid mistake. And that was a stupid mistake, Larry.”
Larry rubbed his clawed cheek. “Yes dear,” he mumbled.
“What about Jumbo and Tiffany?” asked Mark.
Tina turned to Larry. “Maybe you should answer that,” she said.
Larry looked uncomfortable as he accepted his mug from Mark. “I don’t know how to say this,” he said. “So, I’ll just be blunt about it. “Jumbo and Tiffany are swingers. They belong to this club up north and that’s what they do, they swing.”
“That’s just sick,” spat Tina. “And I guess Jumbo brags about it to the guys, all the time. You should have told me, Larry. I’m still mad about that.”
“Oh boy,” said Mark. “That kind of complicates things at the shelter, doesn’t it?”
Tina shook her head. “Anita and I won’t ever step foot down there, again. Larry and Glick both know that if they do, they’ll be looking at a divorce. How can you trust people like that?”
Mark didn’t know anything about swingers, but he couldn’t argue Tina’s logic. He knew that Josie would have felt the same way about Jumbo and Tiffany. “Well, the good news is that things seem to be much better. Have you two caught the news?”
“I just saw that,” said Larry. “Russia backed down. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that. I talked to my boss and he said that all systems are go for tomorrow.”
“What about North Korea?” asked Tina, sipping her coffee. “We’re not out of the woods, yet.”
“North Korea is just being North Korea,” said Larry. “That guy is nuts and is just trying to milk this thing out for whatever he can. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. The people at Fox are calling it sabre rattling, that’s all.”
Tina nodded and stood up from the table. “We better go check on the kids. Thanks a lot, Mark. We knew you would understand. We’re going to grill up some steaks, later, say around three? We’d love to see you.”
“I’d have to check my schedule, but I should be able to make it.”
Larry laughed and stuck out his hand to Mark. “Again, I’m so sorry about last night. You saw me at my worst. That isn’t who I am or what I’m about.”
“I’m sure it isn’t,” said Mark as he shook Larry’s hand. “Do you want me to bring anything over?”
Tina began to shake her head, but then she stopped. “As a matter of fact, there is something you could bring. How about a nice pitcher of that iced tea? Larry has decided to quit drinking and that was the best iced tea I’ve ever had.”
Mark looked at Larry, but Larry pretended not to notice. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll mix up a fresh batch.”
They left after saying their goodbyes and Mark watched them walk away. For some strange reason, Mark felt conflicted. He hadn’t liked the way they had blamed the Lystrom’s free-love lifestyle, for Larry’s poor decision making. Like the news anchors he had watched earlier, the Bell’s report on the stability of the
ir marriage had seemed optimistic and premature. Deep down, Mark wished that Tina would have made Larry sweat it out for a few days, or even weeks. Her gift of quick forgiveness might someday be mistaken as a sign of tolerance. He hoped that wasn’t the case.
He was about ready to turn away, but a flash of movement caught his attention and he stopped. Jumbo and Tiffany were walking up the cul de sac, in a direct path to intercept Larry and Tina. Mark shook his head as the two couples exchanged a few words. He watched as Tina began flailing her arms around, but slowly, she seemed to become subdued. Shortly thereafter, Tiffany stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Tina. The two embraced as Larry and Jumbo shook hands. Mark could see Glick and Anita as they watched from the edge of their lawn. Feeling sick to his stomach, Mark returned to his television and turned it on.
Chapter 14
“I need the internet to run my business,” said Jumbo, sipping a drink. “I’m going to go see what I need to do to get our access back. This is bullshit, I feel like I’m living in the Stone Age.”
Mark had arrived at the Bell’s garage at 3:00 with his pitcher of iced tea. Larry and Tina over-complimented him on his home brew to a point somewhere beyond embarrassment. The sky was overcast, but the day was warm and the winds were light. The children were clustered in their usual groups, riding their bikes, digging in the sandbox, and playing on the Bell’s swing-set. Willie Nelson crooned over the stereo. On the surface, everything appeared to be normal. Mark was seated at Larry’s picnic table with Tina and Glick and Jumbo and Tiffany. Tiffany wore thick makeup to cover up her bruised cheek and she gave him a nervous smile. Jumbo was Jumbo and he acted as if nothing had happened the night before; while Glick and Anita did a poor job of imitating his nonchalance. The message to Mark was clear: everyone knew what had happened and everyone had moved on.
“I feel so lost without my Facebook,” said Tiffany.
“I know,” said Anita. “Isn’t it horrible? I just know I’m going to have a million messages to answer when they turn our internet back on. That’s how our family communicates.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” said Glick, rolling his eyes. “No one else has the internet, either.”
“Oh my God, I didn’t even think of that. Well, at least we have our phones back.”
Larry and Tina lined up all of the children and served them burgers and hot dogs from the grill. They scattered with their plates of food.
Mark watched as Larry manned the grill and Tina ran in and out of the house, mechanically, carrying salads and baskets of bread. During one of her trips inside, Mark caught Larry adding what appeared to be vodka to his red cup of iced tea. Larry caught Mark’s eye as he poured, but instead of looking away, Larry gave him a defiant glare. Mark returned his attention to the table. “We’re hoping for a boy,” said Anita.
“No kidding,” said Jumbo. “You already have four girls.”
“Either way,” said Glick, “this is it. The first thing I’m going to do after the baby is born is go in and get clipped. We’re done having kids.”
“Did you hear that?” Tiffany asked, turning to Jumbo. “How many times have I asked you to do that?”
“I know, I know. And what do I keep telling you? What if something happened to our family? I don’t know about you, but I’d want some more kids.”
All heads turned to face Mark and he did his best to shake off the comment. “I’m done having children,” he said, wishing he hadn’t.
“I’m sorry, man,” said Jumbo. “I didn’t mean you, personally.”
“For crying out loud, Jumbo,” said Glick. “Does it ever end with you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m going to go see if Tina needs a hand,” said Mark, rising to his feet. He walked away as Jumbo and Glick argued. He walked past the sizzling steaks on the grill and into the garage. Tina was in the house and Larry was going through his considerable collection of country music CD’s.
“I know you saw me,” said Larry. “Can you blame me for wanting a drink?”
“I’m not here to judge you. You can do whatever you want, but I’d think that you wouldn’t want to push your luck.”
Larry nodded his head and stuck his hands in the front pockets of his blue jeans. “I really messed up, I know that. And I know I’m lucky to have a gal like Tina, she’s the best. I know my limit, Mark. Things were crazy last night. We thought the world could end at any minute. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Tina came out of the house, carrying a tray of foil wrapped baked potatoes. “How are the steaks looking?” she asked.
“Maybe another minute,” said Larry.
Tina began to speak, but she was cut off by the sound of an approaching pickup truck. The black Chevy short-box sat high in the air on four mammoth tires. The truck’s exhaust system rapped as it pulled into the cul de sec. Two men rode in the cab. Jumbo stood up from the picnic table and waved. “Hey, it’s Mitch and Clyde,” he said, excitedly. “I wonder what they’re doing up here?”
“Are you serious?” Tina whispered. “What the hell are they doing here?”
“Do you know them?” asked Mark.
“They’re Jumbo’s cousins,” said Larry. “And they’re bad news.”
“I thought Clyde was in prison,” said Tina.
“They must have let him out. I’m not cooking steaks for those guys. I don’t even want them in our garage. If Jumbo wants to entertain them, he can invite them over to his own house.”
Mark watched as Tiffany followed Jumbo down to the pickup, which had parked at the end of the driveway. A moment later, the pickup roared back to life and spitting gravel, it pulled into Jumbo’s driveway and parked. Jumbo and Tiffany followed them over and when the men got out, hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Mark could see that both Mitch and Clyde were big men. They towered over the couple with their long hair and shaggy beards. Both had emerged from the Chevy carrying beer bottles and that told Mark all he needed to know about them. “There goes the neighborhood,” he said.
“You aren’t kidding,” said Tina. “Larry, we’re not holding dinner for them.”
Larry nodded and walked over to the open garage door. “Glick, Anita, come and get it!”
The five of them began dishing up their plates as the Oak Ridge Boys played softly over the sound system. They watched as Mitch and Clyde carried duffel bags into Jumbo’s house. Both men were heavily tattooed and neither looked as if they had showered for days. “Why is he inviting them to stay?” asked Glick. “Don’t they remember what happened the last time they were out here?”
Mark cut up his T-bone and speared a piece with his fork. “What happened last time?” he asked.
“Oh my God,” said Anita, “they couldn’t get them to leave.”
“They’re both squatters,” said Glick. “They don’t work and think the world owes them a free ride. You want to make sure your doors are locked until they move on. I don’t trust either of them as far as I can throw them.”
Mark chewed his steak, which Larry had grilled to perfection. “You said one of them was in prison?”
Larry nodded. “They’ve both been in and out of prison for as long as I’ve known Jumbo. I don’t know what Clyde was in for, but I thought Jumbo said he was doing five years. Those guys are losers, Mark. Trust me, man; you don’t want to invite them into your house.”
“You’d never get rid of them,” said Tina.
Mark sipped his iced tea. “Oh, yes I would,” he said.
They continued to eat and the conversation ebbed and flowed, the way it does when the subject on everyone’s mind is strictly off limits. Mark complimented Tina on her antipasto salad. “She makes it from scratch,” said Anita. “Isn’t it good?”
Mark nodded his head. The salad was incredibly good, the entire meal was delicious. The two empty plates at the table were an insult to the effort that Larry and Tina had put into the meal. Tina served cheesecake for dessert and everyone complained
about how full they were, including Mark. “Thank you,” he said. “That was the best meal I’ve had in quite some time. Can I help you with the dishes?”
“No,” said Anita. “I’ll help Tina get things cleaned up.”
As the sisters gathered up the dirty dishes, Mark watched Jumbo and Tiffany lead their company into their back yard. “Are you serious?” asked Glick, gawking as the group continued walking to Jumbo’s trail that led out to the shelter.
“What an idiot,” said Larry, shaking his head. “They’ll never get rid of them, not now.”
Mark had never regretted offering the property to Jumbo, more than he did at that minute. He saw the two men as a cancer spreading into his precious woods. Larry walked over to the grill and speared the two remaining steaks. He carried them over on a plate. “No thanks,” said Glick, “I couldn’t eat another bite.”
“You can and you will,” said Larry. “We’re not leaving anything for them.”
Mark laughed. “I might have a little bit,” he said.
“I guess if you put it that way,” agreed Glick.
Tina and Anita appeared from the garage and they both laughed. Each managed to eat another bite of steak and a few minutes later, both T-bones had been sufficiently stripped. Larry and Glick retreated to the garage and lit cigars. Mark remained at the table and watched as Larry poured himself another strong drink. This time, Tina walked out into the garage and caught Larry in the act. She gave him a glare, but said nothing. Once again, Mark was disappointed in her.
Near an hour later, Jumbo and the others emerged from the woods. The group walked over to Larry’s and Jumbo gave the introductions, introducing Mitch and Clyde as if they were soldiers returning from the battlefield. Mitch had stringy brown hair that hung past his shoulders and might have been considered handsome in his youth. Clyde was ham-faced with thin lips and several missing teeth. Mark doubted if he had ever been considered handsome. Both men sulked, as if they had better places to go. “What happened to dinner?” Jumbo asked.
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