Desperate Times 2 Gun Control

by Nicholas Antinozzi

  “Aw, shit,” muttered Ken. “What happened?”

  “It was all a big lie,” Glen said, shaking his head slowly. Jimmy thought it was odd that his eyes were clear and dry. “The National Guard divided us up when we got to Ely and drove us to Duluth. Shirley and Carl were in the truck in front of ours. Someone got their hands on a gun and started shooting. I heard it was Jenkins. They killed the driver of our truck, and we crashed into a tree. All hell broke loose, and me and Paula high-tailed it on into the woods.”

  “That’s right,” agreed Paula, who unlike Glen had easily been able to shed tears. “We ran for what seemed like miles.”

  Jimmy watched Glen’s face as it seemed he was trying to coax more of their story out of Paula. That was the moment that Jimmy realized the truth. These were bad people with evil plans. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

  “We went back the next day and found their bodies,” Glen finally said, stealing Paula’s line, thought Jimmy.

  Jimmy hardened his eyes. “They’re lying, Ken,” he said. “Don’t believe them.”

  Patty’s open right hand hit Jimmy flush on his shoulder and with as much force as she could muster. The smacking sound echoed in the quiet kitchen. “Shirley Putnam was a good woman,” she hissed in a voice that sounded possessed by demons. “Get out of my kitchen!”

  Glen stood up. “I don’t blame him for not believing us,” he stammered. “I’ve been praying about this moment since we left here last summer. I’m so sorry for being led astray. I couldn’t help myself. I was wrong, I know that now. Can we please stay? We’ve got nowhere to go.”

  “Of course you can stay,” Patty said, planting her hands on her hips and staring directly into Jimmy’s eyes.

  Jimmy held his hand to his face in shock. The floor above him began to creak as someone was heading toward the stairs. “You mark my words: nothing good will come of this,” he said, rising to his feet and moving out of Patty’s range. He wasn’t going to let this pass. They had to listen to reason. “Ken,” Jimmy said, pointing at the old hippie version of Putnam. “How can you forgive the fact that he held a gun on us, here, on your property? I don’t get it. I’ll never trust that bastard.”

  “I told you to leave,” growled Patty.

  The stairs continued to creak as Jimmy turned to face Patty. “I’m leaving,” he said. “I can tell you this much. Julie and I are getting out of here just as soon as we can.”

  The upstairs door opened, and Bill sauntered out in a rumpled white robe. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was at the table.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” mumbled Ken.

  “Glen Putnam?” Bill asked in a voice just above a whisper, scratching his bald head.

  “Hi, Bill,” Glen said, sticking his short arm out for Bill to shake his hand.

  “And Paula?” Bill asked shaking Glen’s hand as Jimmy watched in horror. Bill turned and gave Paula a warm hug. “How are you, sweetie?”

  “Oh, Bill,” Paula said, “it’s so good to see you.”

  Jimmy’s head began to spin as he fought to retain his composure. He stumbled out of the kitchen, and now it was his turn to bury his face into his hands.

  Chapter 33

  An hour later, Jimmy, Julie, and Doc sat out on the front porch with the French doors closed. The March sun had bathed the room in brilliant light, and it was warm on their skin. Jimmy had just finished explaining to Doc their new predicament.

  “I don’t like it,” Doc said. “I’m with the two of you. I want out of this nuthouse.”

  Julie nodded her head. “Thanks,” she said. “I think we should start looking around for a new home.”

  “I already know of a place,” Jimmy said. “That house where I found the snowmobiles. The house is pretty solid, and the LP tank is full.”

  “What about food?” Doc asked. “What will we eat?”

  “They wouldn’t let us leave without taking some food,” Jimmy said.

  “Beef stew? How will we carry it?” Julie asked.

  “I’ll build a sled, and we can drag it behind the Skidoo. We can be there before dark. What do you say?”

  “Hell, yes,” said Doc. “I can be packed in half an hour.”

  “I can be packed in fifteen minutes,” countered Julie.

  “Okay,” said Jimmy. “Slow down. It’s going to take me some time to build a sled. I’m going to see if I can get Bill to help. You’ve got to give me a few hours.”

  Just then the glass doors were thrown open and Ken walked into the porch. He looked at them all as if he had heard every word they had said. “We can’t turn them away,” he said. “The Good Book says that to forgive is divine. I guess it’s time to start forgiving.”

  “You and Patty can forgive whoever you’d like,” said Jimmy.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Julie stepped in front of Ken. “How can you forgive Glen after what he did? We certainly don’t have to forgive him.”

  “I’ve known Glen Putnam since you were in diapers, young lady. You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to have a friend for that many years.”

  “And I’ve known you longer than that,” said Doc, who waded in and stood behind Julie. “I refuse to stay with someone who has held a gun on me. Have you and Patty lost your minds? How long do you think it’ll be before he turns on you again? We’re moving out, Ken. I hope you understand.”

  Ken opened his mouth; it hung like that for a long moment. He then snapped it shut and spun on his heels, closing the door behind him without another word.

  “That went well,” said Doc.

  “What did he expect us to do?” Julie said. “You’re right. Glen will turn on them the first chance he gets. He’s a snake.”

  “You’ve got that right,” said Jimmy.

  “Oh, great,” said Julie. “What the hell does she want?”

  Jimmy turned just in time to see Paula opening the paned glass door. There was an awkward silence as she stood in the doorway and looked from at the three of them.

  “Do you need something?” asked Julie, narrowing her eyes at the unwanted guest.

  “I need to talk to Jimmy—alone,” Paula said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Julie said. “If you have something to say to him, you can say it right here and now. You gave up your right to speak to him in private when you left here.”

  “Who are you to tell me what my rights are?”

  “Excuse me, ladies,” said Doc, brushing past Julie and then past Paula. “I have things I need to do.”

  Jimmy groaned and shook his head. “Julie is right,” he said. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of her.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, that is so,” snapped Julie.

  “Okay, fine. I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done to hurt you, Jimmy. I know I said some bad things in the past, and I just pray that you can forgive me for them. I still love you, and I’m hoping that we can work things out. I would do anything for you.”

  Jimmy swallowed hard as he watched Julie’s face turn crimson red. “I’m sorry, Paula,” he said. “Julie and I are back together, and nothing is going to change that.”

  “You bitch,” hissed Julie. “How dare you walk in here and profess your love for him? You’ve got some nerve. I’ve got news for you—we’re leaving. You and Glen Putnam may have fooled the Dahlgrens, but you haven’t fooled us.”

  “I knew you’d resort to name calling,” Paula said. “Classy. And just where do you plan to go? What do you plan to eat? The roads are full of snow, so you can’t drive anywhere. Jimmy, think about what you’re doing. This is crazy. I know you and I left things on bad terms, and that was my fault. I apologized for that, and I hope you can forgive me. I love you, but if you want to be with… her, well, that’s your business. Please, don’t run off and do something foolish.”

  “I’m going to say this just once,”
Julie said, balling her hands into fists and stepping towards the open door. “Get out of my face, and don’t you ever speak to me again. Do you understand me? Who the hell do you think you are? Now turn around and close the door. I’ve heard enough of your bullshit. Jimmy’s done with you. It’s over, Paula.”

  Paula raised her chin defiantly at Julie, but a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek. There was a long moment of silence, and Jimmy felt a pang of sorrow for his former fiancé. She had been crazy to think they could have just picked up like nothing had happened, but Paula had always been somewhat childish in her expectations. Paula looked at him for a long moment as more tears fell. Suddenly, Julie’s head turned, and her eyes bored into his. Jimmy felt something very close to fear as he stared back at her. He quickly shook his head and turned away. The next thing he heard was the glass door being thrown shut.

  Jimmy sat down on the edge of the daybed and stared out over the log wall and across the frozen lake. Paula had been right, and he knew it. They were acting foolishly, like spoiled children who hadn’t gotten their way. The decision to leave had been a kneejerk reaction to a bad situation; he knew that now. They were putting their lives at risk simply to make a point. Jimmy watched Julie as she flew about the porch and stuffed her meager belongings into a black duffel bag. She was mumbling to herself, seemingly oblivious to his existence. Jimmy thought that he had never seen her so angry.

  The door was suddenly thrown open for a third time, and Jimmy turned to see Patty standing there. She studied the two of them for a moment and slowly placed her hands on her hips. Jimmy could see both the anger and the hurt in her eyes. “I hope the two of you are happy,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “Ken has locked himself in the bedroom, and he’s crying. Maybe you don’t think a man like him has the right to cry; well, he certainly does!”

  Jimmy covered his face with his hands. Things were about to get a whole lot worse and he knew it.

  “You chose the two of them over us,” Julie said, in a matter-of-fact voice. “I hope it works out for all of you. You didn’t really expect us to live under the same roof as Glen Putnam, did you?”

  “This isn’t about Glen and you know it,” exploded Patty, causing Jimmy’s heart to gallop inside his chest. “This is about Paula and the fact that you feel threatened by her! Grow up, Julie. Do you think this is high school? Where do the three of you plan to go? What do you plan to eat? How will you protect yourselves? Have you thought of any of that?”

  “Jimmy has a plan!”

  “He does, does he? Well, I’d love to hear it. Tell us Jimmy, how are you going to provide for Julie and Doc? Do you honestly think you can just walk away and have the ghost of a chance to survive out there? Things have changed in case you haven’t noticed. People will kill you for a can of stew unless the National Guard catches you first. I’m sorry, but your argument is complete bullshit! You aren’t leaving here because of your safety. You’re leaving out of petty jealousy!”

  “That’s not true!” shrieked Julie. “Glen is an evil man, and you should have turned them away.”

  “And what if it had just been Paula Peterson at the gate? Would that have made any difference?”

  Julie answered that by not responding.

  After a long moment Jimmy heard the glass door close. Despite the early hour, he suddenly wanted a stiff drink. He looked at Julie, but she refused to make eye contact with him as she flew about the porch in a wild rage. “Julie,” he said, “you’ve got to calm down. We’ve got to think about this for a minute.”

  “Don’t you start on me!” Julie screamed. The tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Why does this always happen to me?”

  Jimmy stood and rushed to her, taking her into his arms. She fought him for a moment and then buried her face into his neck as she was racked with sobs. “Don’t worry, sweetie,” Jimmy whispered into her ear. “Everything is going to be okay, trust me.”

  “Nothing is okay,” Julie said. “Patty was right. I hate Paula and I can’t live with her.”

  Jimmy had no time to think about that. The glass door flew open again, and Bill stormed into the porch. Jimmy hadn’t seen him like this since the rock-throwing incident. “What the hell are you guys doing?” he shouted, pointing at them like a gunslinger using both hands. “Of all the selfish things I’ve ever seen, this has to take the cake.”

  Julie pulled away from Jimmy and before he could stop her. She charged Bill like a linebacker and took him down at the waist in a textbook tackle. There was a large crash as they hit the hardwood floor with a deafening thud.

  “My back!” Bill screamed. “Ah!”

  “Shut up, you big baby!” answered Julie. “Or I’ll really give you something to cry about!”

  “Ah!” Bill squealed again. “Oh my God, I think it’s broken! Jimmy, go get Doc!”

  “Don’t play games with me,” hissed Julie, except not sounding as sure of herself as she slowly got to her feet.

  “Jimmy!” Bill cried.

  And Jimmy could see that Bill indeed was crying. His face was a mask of agony and had instantly turned a shade of ghostly white. His eyes were pinched shut, and great tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes. Jimmy could see that this was no act. “Hang on,” he said. “I’ll go find him. Don’t move!”

  “Oh, my God,” mumbled Julie. “I’m so sorry, Bill.”

  Chapter 34

  The basement workshop had served as their hideaway for most of the afternoon as their plans to leave that day were put on hold. Doc had attended to Bill the best that he could, but without an x-ray there was very little that he could do except shoot Bill full of morphine and speculate as to the extent of the injury. Doc joined them in the basement to give them the latest update. His prognosis was grim.

  “I’m afraid that we have to put our plans on hold for at least a week,” Doc said, scratching his shaggy beard. “When Bill had his surgery they inserted a metal rod into his back to help support his spine. I think the damn thing got bent when he fell.”

  “This is all my fault,” said Julie. “I’m sorry.”

  Doc walked over and slung his long arm around Julie’s slender shoulder and gave her a quick hug. “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said, softly. “Bill is an insufferable pain in the ass who deserves what he got. He should have been culled from our herd long ago.”

  Julie smiled for the first time all afternoon and returned the hug.

  “I don’t like the idea of staying here a week, but if you say that’s what we have to do…” said Jimmy.

  “We do,” said Doc, firmly. He stepped away from Julie and headed for the stairs. “Bill’s going to be using a bedpan for at least that long. Julie, changing that is now your responsibility.”

  Julie tightly closed her eyes and slowly shook her head while Jimmy fought the urge to chuckle. The sound of Doc’s heavy boots climbing the wooden stairs seemed to be the only sound in the house. “How do we handle this with Paula and Glen?” Jimmy asked, waiting for Doc to top the stairs. “We can’t be openly hostile; that would be disrespectful to Ken and Patty.”

  “I know,” Julie said. “I’ve been thinking about that. Look, I know you love me and that you’d never go back to Paula in a million years, right?”

  “I’d never go back to her, period.”

  “Not even if I was dead and she was the last woman on earth?”

  “Not even if my life depended on it.”

  “Those were good answers,” Julie said, moving to where Jimmy stood at the workbench. She wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s neck and pulled him to her. They stood there kissing for a long moment. “I love you,” Julie whispered as she slowly pulled away.

  “I love you, too.”

  “Don’t worry about Paula. I can deal with her. I probably overreacted when I heard they were back. Let’s just take it a day at a time. Maybe Patty was right? Leaving here might have been a dumb idea.”

  Jimmy nodded his head. He had been thi
nking the same thing, but he didn’t want to mention it. Before he could speak, he heard the basement door open, and there was the sound of Ken’s voice followed by footsteps descending the stairs.

  “Wait until you fire one of these babies,” Ken was saying. “There’s nothing like it.”

  “Tell me more about your Road Runner,” Wart said, sounding like a young boy.

  “I bought her new when I got out of high school,” Glen Putnam said, and when he saw Jimmy and Julie the conversation ended.

  “Can I help you two find something?” Ken asked, crossing his arms.