by Kara Hart
“Alright,” she says. “But I’m driving.”
“Fine,” he says. “Whatever. Let’s just go!”
“Follow me,” she says. She throws her cigarette in the gutter.
We walk through the alleyway and move into the back parking lot, where an old Mercury Marquis is parked. We get in the car and she puts the pedal to the metal. She’s pretty badass for an old waitress.
“You’re lucky you found me,” she says. “I thought you guys were toast.”
“Toast?” I reply. “What exactly happened with Julia?”
“Armed men. Everywhere. They came in. Luckily, she was in the backyard when everything happened. They took her phone and all her jewelry. They shot up the place, as you no doubt already saw. She’s scared shitless, obviously,” she says.
“The Good Boys,” Soren sighs. “God, I can’t believe it’s come to this. I’m so fucking sorry, everyone. It’s all my fault.”
“It’s just the way things happened,” Gabe says. “Circumstance. It’s not really your fault. Just circumstance.”
Soren doesn’t say anything back. He just stares idly out the window, as if the answer to all of this is somewhere just over the horizon. “It’s okay,” I whisper in his ear. I place my hand on his thigh. Even when I’m angry with him, I want to reassure him. I want to make him feel better, but the question I keep asking myself is, ‘Are we all going to die?’
These are the situations that never get reported on the news. A heavily funded gang can get rid of evidence pretty damn fast, and if someone does get caught, they just throw the police a scapegoat and move on.
Mary’s house is a small cottage on the other side of the forest. It doesn’t look any safer than our place, but I’m guessing these guys won’t search here. “It looks smaller than it is,” she says. She parks the car and steps out.
“Anyway, it’ll make for a good hiding place for a while. That is, until they leave this place,” she says.
“What makes you think they’re leaving?” I ask her.
“I’m hopeful,” she says. “You have to have some hope in this world.”
“I doubt these guys have any hope. They’ll leave when the job is done,” Soren says.
There’s a huge sinking feeling in my gut. I just want to curl up in a ball and disappear forever. I haven’t felt this way since my father died. I feel… helpless.
When we walk in, Julia is sitting on a chair, crying her eyes out. She sees us and sighs loudly. She stands up from the chair and walks over to Gabe. She winds her arm back as far as it can go, and she swings her palm across his face. I’ve never seen a woman slap someone so hard. His face nearly turns 180 degrees and he actually falls back a little.
“Jesus!” Gabe screams. “Julia, what the fuck?”
“What the fuck? What the fuck? Are you joking me, Gabe?!” she screams. She turns to me and says, “They lied to us! They weren’t scoping out new business locations. Soren, this is all your fault! And Gabe, you’re a damn fool for letting him back in your life.”
“Settle down,” Gabe says, feeling his cheek. “It was partly my idea too.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Soren says. “No need to take the fall for me on this one, brother. I was in the wrong. I should have gone alone.”
“Fuck that,” Gabe says. “I have your back. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
“Are you guys serious, right now?” Julia shrieks. “Stop this brother shit right now and tell me what the hell is going on!”
Gabe explains everything to her and of course her reaction is less than thrilled. I’m actually surprised she doesn’t start breaking everything in the house. Luckily, Mary is there to calm things down a bit.
“You need a hideout? Well you’ve got one,” Mary says, hands on her hips. “I may look like an old bird to all of you, but back in my day, we didn’t wait to sit around to act. We pulled up our knickers and shot the bastards that came after us!”
We all stare at her with confused expressions. “I’m only joking,” she says. “But Gary did have some enemies. Here, let me show you where you’ll be staying.”
I look at Soren and he just shrugs and waves his finger around his temple, the international symbol of “she’s crazy.” When we get to the end of the hall, she removes a small rug on the floor. Beneath the rug is a metal doorway.
“Yep, this house was built around the Cold War Era. Came with a bomb shelter and everything. Gary was convinced the Soviets would invade some way or another. They never did, of course,” Mary rolls her eyes. “Still, it comes in handy every now and then, ‘specially if you’ve got beef with someone in town.”
Soren leans over and whispers, “Mary has beef with someone in town?” I nearly laugh, but then I remember the situation we’re in and I’m back to being unhappy about things.
“It’s just a little pull and—” Mary tugs on the seal and it opens after a few turns. “Voila! I still got it, after all these years.” Mary stands proudly above it.
“Well, I guess we should head inside,” I say.
“So we’re just going to hide? That’s our plan?” Gabe stands there, shaking his head. “And what happens when they do come around to finding us? What then? Because they’re not going to give up after a week. They’ll send a guy down here month after month and eventually, they’ll have our fucking heads.”
“Just shut up for a second and drop into the shelter,” Mary says. “I think you’ll be pleased with what you find.”
“Whatever,” he sighs. He slowly steps onto the metal ladder beneath us and drops in.
“I told you,” Julia whispers to me. “The Payne brothers are out of their minds.”
“I heard that,” Soren says.
“Uh, guys,” Gabe shouts out. “You might want to see this.”
“What? Is there a dead body down there or something?” Soren laughs.
“Just come down here, asshole,” Gabe says.
Soren goes and I follow. Julia stays upstairs, but Mary is right behind us, laughing away. “So, you found the gold, did ya?” she laughs.
“It’s better than gold,” Soren says. “Holy shit. Well, this is how we win the fight.”
I drop down onto the solid concrete and turn around. On the wall is at least twelve racks, all full of guns and ammunition. “Oh, come on,” I sigh. “On second thought, I’d rather stay upstairs.”
“They’re unloaded,” Mary says. “Yeah, Gary had a thing for collecting guns. Funny thing is, he never really went shooting. He just liked to collect things.”
“Hoarder?” Soren asks, touching an M16. I flinch when his finger moves toward the trigger.
“Just another fanatic,” she says. “Anyway, you can take what you want. I have no use for them anymore.”
“We can’t just take them from you,” Gabe laughs. “These are worth a fortune.”
“Gabe, I’m seventy-eight years old. I may look sexy enough still, but I’m standing on the edge of life and death. I’ve got no qualms about my life. I’ve lived it to the fullest, owned the best diner in Denver, and now I want to see some fucking action!” she shouts. “I’m only kidding. But you’re a part of this town. We all grew up around each other. I knew your father, Jim. We even dated for a small stint. He would have wanted me to help you guys out.”
“What do you mean would have?” Soren asks.
“Oh dear,” Mary sighs. “You boys don’t know?”
“Know what?” Gabe asks. “What are you trying to say, Mary?”
“Boys, I hate to break the news to you. Your father passed last July. I got a letter in the mail explaining the whole thing,” she says. I look over at Soren and there are tears in his eyes. His fists are clenched. Neither of the brothers say a word. “He passed at St. John’s, I guess. Heart failure.”
Soren grumbles. “Alright,” he finally says, nodding his head and taking it all in.
“I’m so sorry, Soren,” I manage to say. I take his hand, but he’s not letting his emotions out with me. He’s back to his anger.
I let go of his hand and put my back against the wall, sliding toward the ground.
“We camp out here, then,” Soren says. “We wait until they fish us out. Then, we fight back.”
“How many do you think there are?” Gabe asks.
“I would guess three or four, max,” he says. “It’s not like they have all the manpower in the world. They’re respected in Buffalo, but this is a whole other world for them. My guess is they sent a few of their best to handle this.”
Julia looks down from the top and shouts, “And what makes you think they’ll stop looking for you after all this is done?” she asks. “There will be more of them in Buffalo, you know.”
“And risk more lives on their side?” Gabe laughs. “No way. This is where we prove to them we’re more than they bargained for. They’ll quickly realize that we’re not to be messed with.”
“This is just so fucked,” I mutter under my breath. “I can’t do this. Sorry.” I climb back up the ladder. Mary follows behind me.
“Sweetie, come with me,” she says. She pulls me away from Julia and we enter into a spare room, with boxes everywhere. We both sit on an unopened box and she takes my hand in hers. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“I’m really scared, Mary,” I admit. “I don’t want to be here for this. I shouldn’t be here for this.”
“Then we’ll get you out of here as fast as we can,” she says. “Come on. Let’s go.”
But I’m not moving. I’m one hundred percent freaked out of my skull, but my legs aren’t carrying me to the front door, where I should be. I could hop on a bus or plane to LA and be done with all this mess. Harry would understand, and if he didn’t, I’d just find another job. Big deal, right? But my damn legs aren’t carrying me towards that front door.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“This…” She motions around herself. “Isn’t what’s bothering you. Is it?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “It is, obviously. This is totally crazy, right? I shouldn’t ever be in a situation like this one. But here I am. You’re right, though. I’m scared, but that’s only half the problem.”
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” she says. “It’s the whole Payne thing isn’t it?”
I nod. “I don’t know what to do, Mary. Everything is telling me that I’m in love with this man, but…” I trail off, to try and calm myself down.
“But your mind is telling you that it’s not a safe bet,” she says. “It’s saying, ‘run, run, run!’ Yeah I know the feeling.”
“You do?” I ask her.
“Sure I do,” she says. “I laugh about all of this shit, like having a bunker built in my house with a whole arsenal of weapons. But, shit, you think it makes me feel at ease? Hell no. I fought Gary tooth and nail over stuff like that, all of the time.”
“All of the time? Jesus. Maybe I should listen to my brain and leave now,” I say.
“It ain’t that easy,” she says. “Look, when I met my husband, I couldn’t give a flyin’ fuck about falling in love. All of that gushy stuff sort of made my stomach turn. I grew up wanting to run a business. The diner, to be exact. Well, Gary protested and protested. He said if I just would marry him, he could give me the world. I let him down easy, of course. About a hundred times, actually.”
She pauses for a second and grabs a cigarette. She doesn’t light it. She just holds it in between her fingers, as if she was smoking. “I, uh, knew I was in love when the county fair came into town. He invited me to come with him and to me that meant a free night of booze and fried food. I wasn’t going to pass that over. Well, he brought me roses that day. I lived right across the street from the fairgrounds. He came to my door and right behind him were the lights of the Ferris Wheel. You know what he did?” she asks me.
“What? He proposed right then and there?” I ask.
“No, it was much sweeter than that. He got the fair workers to string up lights for me. Right behind him, they were all spelled out: I love you, Mary-May.” That’s what he called me because he met me in the month of May,” she says, tearing up. She grabs a tissue and wipes her eyes. “Now, I know it might sound a little cheesy to you, or maybe even a little too simple. Nowadays, you have to take a woman on a scavenger hunt, or trick them into eating a pie with a ring in the center. But to me, this was just the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I knew right then and there, that I was in love.”
“Well,” I sigh, “Soren hasn’t done anything like that for me.”
“I have a feeling that when this is all said and done, he’ll have something worked out. I’ve never met anyone like the kid. He’s got a full heart for you.” she says. “Plus, Soren is different from Gary, so we shouldn’t be comparing the two. Soren has always yearned for stability. I think he sees that in you. If he has you, he can live a normal life. I’m sure of that.”
“I do love him, Mary,” I say. “I just hope I can look at him the same when this is over with.”
“You’ll see,” she says. “Marriage is hard like this. You come across this same dilemma, over and over again. But you’ll see. He’ll surprise you every single time. That’s the beauty of true love.”
“It sounds like a fairy tale.” I smile.
“That’s because it is,” she laughs and rubs my back. “Life is what you make of it. If you want the fairytale, go after it and get it!”
“Yeah.” My smile grows. “I guess you’re right.”
She helps herself off of the box and groans. “Child, I know I’m right,” she laughs. “My time has almost come. It’s time to lay some knowledge on the youth.”
“Thank you, Mary,” I say.
“No problem at all,” she says. “No problem whatsoever.”
Soren
Well, I should have known how this would all pan out. She hates me and I can’t say I blame her for it. I’ve been the biggest let down of the century to her. I guess that’s always how it works with me. Something good comes along and I grab it and break it, until it’s shattered completely.
I grab the metal ladder and attempt to walk up, but Gabe puts his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. She’ll come around,” he whispers.
“Nah,” I sigh. “This is the worst day of my life. Dad’s dead and Emma hates my guts. I swear, I don’t give a damn if these guys kill me or not. I’m ready for it.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Gabe gets angry. “You’re my brother and I love you. I’m here for you, but I’m not going to let you get yourself killed out there.”
“Whatever,” I sigh. I’ve got no patience left in me. Everything I’ve ever wanted has fallen apart. The time has come to find out how this all ends.
“We don’t even know if they’ll find us,” he says, in reassurance.
“They’ll find us,” I say. I leave it at that and climb out of the shelter to find Mary at the front door.
“I’m going out for some coffee and milk. It’s going to be a long few days in here, I presume. Might as well get some bacon too.”
“It’s like the diner has followed us.” I smile.
“The diner never closes, sweetie.” She winks at me and leaves the house.
I slump down in the kitchen. I just let my body hit the floor. I rest my head in my palms and try to breathe. I can’t do this shit anymore. If this is the way my life is going to go, I don’t want to live it anymore. There’s at least one person keeping me going and that’s Emma. I’m going to protect her the best way I can. I’m going to provide for her. Hell, I’ll even kill for her if I have to.
Mostly, I just want to cook her breakfast in bed. I want to build a giant backyard for her and watch as she gardens. Does she garden? Shit, I don’t know, but if she doesn’t, I’ll plant a garden myself. I want to give her a picturesque life. The way I see it, life is only worth living if you can give back to the people you love.
I close my eyes and imagine it. I can see it so damn clearly. It’s comforting thinking about Gabe coming over for barbeques
. Or if we had a kid… shit, I don’t know if it’s too early to think about something like that. It’s a huge step, but even that is something I’d want to do with Emma. I’m not losing it. I’m as clear as clear can be. I just want a normal, good, healthy life. Is that too much to ask?
“Soren.” I look up and Emma is standing in front of me, against the doorway. “What’re you doing?”
“Just thinking,” I tell her.
“About what?” she asks.
“About how sorry I am for everything. I guess I’m not feeling all too great about life right now,” I admit. “Every path I’ve chosen has ended up being wrong. Do you know how shitty that feels?”
She walks up to me and kneels in front of me. “Every path, but you,” I whisper. I can’t look her in the eyes, dammit. If I do, I’ll start bawling like a little girl. She means so much to me that she makes my emotions all twisted. What’s a guy to do?
“I want to be with you,” she says. She places her arms gently around my body.
“You do?” I ask. “Why the hell would you want to be with a guy like me?”
“You’re kind. I want to believe that you’re mostly honest. You’re strong and handsome,” she says.
“Don’t forget sexy,” I smile.
“The sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on,” she smiles and turns pink. “I just want you to promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” I tell her. “Just name it.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking and—”
“You want to get married?” I interrupt her.
“What?” she laughs nervously.
“I asked you if you want to get married,” I say. I reach into my coat pocket and pull out something I’ve been keeping in my jacket.
She looks down and her eyes widen. “Soren,” she whispers. “What is this?”
“You don’t recognize it?” I smile.
“I think I do,” she says. “Oh my god. It isn’t, is it?”
“First edition of Gwen Talbathon’s first book, The Faraway Calling. You like her right?” I ask her.
“How the hell did you find this?” she asks, choking up a little.