“How? How do I work with the fact that she cheats on me with Frank?”
“Has she told you she has except for that one time?”
“Come on, Dad. I’m a smart man.”
“I don’t know about that, Dean.” William shrugged. “You didn’t know your daughter was teething.” William smiled when Dean quickly looked up. “Your daughter Dean.”
“What about her?”
“You have two children now. That should tell you something. Out of all the death, life emerged from you and Ellen. Of course, that can also tell you how pathetic you actually were. At almost thirty-eight years old, it took the world to end in order for you to actually secure a woman.”
“Dad.” Dean slightly rolled his eyes.
“Which is a pretty big task. Doesn’t your research show women are less likely to be immune.” William raised his eyebrow. “If you want it to work, you have to work on making it work. Talk about it, fight about it, but don’t walk away when it happens.”
“But what about Frank?” Dean asked with passion. “Why do I get the feeling, no matter what, Frank will always get in the way?”
“Because unless you grow some balls, Frank probably always will. He was in the way of her first marriage. He’ll be in the way of this one. Just do what you can to stop it. Kill him.”
“Right.”
“Just a suggestion.” William handed Alexandra back to Dean. “I’ll leave you to torturing your daughter but think about what I said.”
“I will.”
“It’s a big empty world now, Dino, and you aren’t with someone you’re stuck with. You’re with someone you love. Arguments, struggles and most of all, time, are what make a marriage strong, not just love.” William winked. “Think about it.”
Dean only nodded to his father as he left and then, in thought, Dean held his daughter closely to him.
<><><><>
“Gash dang it, Joe.” Dirk shook his head. “Was a man s’pose ta do?”
Joe cringed then looked to George. “Any answers?”
“Not beat them perhaps?” George tossed out a suggestion.
“That thar core-pree-ail of yours was a plowin my field if ya get my drift.” Dirk winked. “Tends to anger a man might. How would chew like et if some young in man was pokin his willy ...”
“O.K.!” Joe said loudly holding up his hand. “That’s about all I need to know.”
“Me too,” George added. “Look Dirk, you’re seventy-seven years old.”
“So,” Dirk stated.
“Well don’t you think at seventy-seven, you should have expected this?” George asked.
“Wasin specting it at thirty. Why shoe I spect tit at near eighty.”
“Well Jenny is a young girl,” George added.
“Yes her is. Mighty fine Lil dumpkin too.”
George took a breath. “What about the fact that physically she needs more?”
“I’ll give it,” Dirk said assuredly.
Joe looked at George, stopping any further questions. “When in your entire life have you been diplomatic?”
“Tactful, Joe,” George corrected. “I’m being tactful.”
“Or that.” Joe turned to Dirk. “What George is trying to tell you is ...”
“Joe,” George interrupted. “Tact.”
“You think I won’t use tact?” Joe scoffed. “Please. I’m sensitive. Dirk.” Joe paused then continued. “What George here is trying to tell you is that you’re goddamn old. You didn’t expect to be getting laid from some nineteen year old kid forever, did you?” Joe didn’t notice George sliding in his seat. “Christ, George is trying to drive the point home that no matter how seasoned you think you are, in the big scope of things, you’re a small container of oregano compared to a man say ...” Joe tossed up his hands. “A third of your age. Now you had your fun. You played the teacher. You couldn’t keep ... excuse the terminology ... up with Jenny. So get over it, move on, and don’t beat any more goddamn people in Beginnings with a big stick.”
Dirk saw red at Joe’s words and immediately he stood up. “Why you.” He turned to George. “Get chore old ass up out dat chair. Right now. You insult me like that. Let’s go.” Dirk held up his fists. “Prezi-dent of the U-nited states or not. You an I are goin round din round. I show ya old.”
“Joe.” George looked to a laughing Joe. “Dirk, those words came ...”
“Speaking of fights.” Joe looked at his watch. “Dirk, knock it the hell off. We gotta go. George.” Joe hurriedly shuffled from behind his desk and to the door.
George sprang up. “Maybe another time, Dirk.” He raced out of Joe’s office with him.
Dirk, alone, lowered his fist. “Ain’t lost my touch chet.” He nodded. “Scare dem away.” He moved to the door mumbling. “No buddy wants a piece of Dirk, that’s fir sure.”
<><><><>
It was a cloth sack, one Maggie had made for the working men to take food with them. Frank tossed his high in the air over the back gate fence. It landed on the ground. “You’re lame. You missed.”
“Sorry. Thanks.” The bulkier man bent down and picked it up. His name was Greg. His hair was balding on top and he looked as if he cut it himself to try to keep it short. He would have been thin had his bone structure allowed for it. “You don’t have to do this. I’m capable of hunting for my food.”
“Nah.” Frank waved his hand. “I would have just thrown it out. It’s only bread and a little stew.”
“I appreciate this,” Greg said.
“No, problem, but I want my Tupperware back.”
“I’ll rinse it out in the stream and toss it over before your six a.m. rounds.”
“Excellent.” Frank nodded.
“I saw those three people you turned away this morning.”
“Fuckin’ idiots, weren’t they.”
“I agree.”
“You show up.” Frank holds out his hand. “You’re clean and not an animal. Those three people looked like they’ve been living on the street or something.”
Greg raised his eyes and shook his head. “I’m afraid not to be clean.” He sat down and lifted the pink lid from the Tupperware. “You can’t be too careful about infections in cuts, plus lice and such.”
Frank scratched his head. “Dean warned us about that.” He scratched again. “Bet me them people had fuckin’ lice with that hair all long and dirty.”
“Long hair attracts them and if you don’t get those eggs, they keep hatching and coming back. I worked with this weird chick. I think her name was Renee. Man, every time you turned around she was getting ...”
“Stop. I’m fuckin’ itching here.” Frank shuddered and scratched his head.
“Sorry. This is very good.”
“Made it myself.” Frank sniffed proudly. “George is taking my son fishing today, so I should have fish for you tomorrow.”
“I’m very glad you didn’t threaten to shoot me like those people.”
“I get instincts about people.” Frank pointed to his own temple. “I got good instincts about you. Why else do I let you camp out up here?”
“So, did you talk to them yet about letting me in?”
“No.” Frank shook his head. “I can’t bring up survivors until the next meeting. My Dad will get pissed. He’d say, ‘Frank, why the fuck are you bringing up survivors before the next meeting?”
“When’s the next meeting?”
“A week, but don’t worry. I promise to bring you up.”
“Hey, I’ve been out here this long, right?” Greg shrugged and ate. “So, I saw you and your brother talking this morning.”
“Yeah, that Dirk beating up John thing helped us make up. Oh!” Frank snapped his finger. “And speaking of brothers.” He looked at his watch. “I have to go. I don’t want to be late.”
“The big first event.”
“You bet.” Frank backed up.
“Let me know how it went.”
“I will. See you next rounds.” Frank hurried and raced away up ov
er the grade and out of sight.
Greg let out a breath as he enjoyed his stew. “Nice guy he is.”
<><><><>
Ellen was hesitant before she stepped all the way into Dean’s lab. He leaned over paperwork at the center counter “Your dad ...” She waited until he looked up at her. “Said you made a remarkable diagnosis with Alexandra.”
Dean looked curiously at her. “He told you that?”
“Yes and ...” Ellen walked in. “He said you wanted to see me.”
“I do.” Dean stood up.
“First.” Ellen raised her hand to silence him. “First of all, let’s get one thing straight.”
“All right.”
“I’m not a patient nor am I a business partner. This is our marriage and I don’t appreciate being summoned.”
“You’re the one that was wrong.”
“And I gave you ample opportunity to talk to me. If you want to talk to me you ask me yourself.” She turned and started to leave.
“Is that why you came here?” Dean walked around the counter. “To bitch because I called for you?”
“Yes.”
“Not to talk?”
“You heard what I said.” Ellen moved to the door.
“Ellen.” Dean called out to her. “Stop.”
Ellen did.
“Can you talk to me?”
Smiling first, Ellen turned around and drew up a serious look. “Sure.”
“Thank you.” Dean took a deep breath, “I’ve been thinking a lot about us. And ... I want you to know, I love you. I want very much to make it work with you but ...” Dean closed his eyes. “How can we?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not dumb, Ellen. I don’t care what you tell me. I know there’s something going on between you and Frank.”
“Then that’s what you think.”
“Why are you being so pig-headed about this?”
“Pig headed?” Ellen stepped to him. “What do you want me to tell you, Dean? If I say I’m not, you’ll believe I am. If I own up to sleeping with Frank, will you say ‘thank you’ and we move on? No. I’m at a loss here on what you want me to do.”
“Stop seeing Frank.”
“I will.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Ellen tossed her hands up and dropped them with a slap.
“Ellen, do you want to make it work with me?”
“Yes.”
“We can’t do that here.”
“What do you mean?” Ellen asked.
“Here in Beginnings. It’s impossible for us to start and build a life here. I really think that. See, I can’t live my life sharing you with Frank. I’m not Pete. The way I see it, we only have two choices. We either end it now or we leave.”
“Leave Beginnings?” Ellen questioned softly. “Are you nuts?”
“No. I want you to leave with me. I am perfectly capable of not only securing my family’s health, but I’ve learned about farming and, contrary to what the Slagel testosterone tag team believes, I was in the military for over ten years, I can protect my family too. I want to leave. I want to pack up you and the kids. I’ve planned it out. We can fuel up the chopper and have Robbie take us west. He can fuel up again there with the pump and fly us to one of the small islands off of Hawaii, fuel up again and leave us. An isolated island where we can fish and grow our food. Climate is good ...”
“Stop.” Ellen held up her hand. “Just leave?”
“It’s our only choice if we want to make it work.”
“If it was just Frank you were asking me to leave, as much as I care about him, I would. But these people here are our family. My father is here. Robbie? I can’t leave them. They aren’t just new family. They have always been my family. And what about your father, Dean? Your father is here.”
“I would leave. He’d understand.”
“I wouldn’t. I don’t even know how you can begin to think about leaving him behind.” Ellen nodded slowly. “That’s the choices, pack up and leave or break up?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess we’re over with.” Ellen turned and walked to the door.
“Is that your choice?” Dean asked.
Ellen stopped. “That’s my choice.”
“Then I want one of us to be out of the house by tonight. I can’t live with you if I’m not going to be with you.”
Coldly Ellen looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ll pack up, Dean. Don’t you worry.” She took a step toward the door.
“I guess you never really wanted it to work.”
A gasp escaped Ellen as she turned back around. “Make it work? Yes I do but you gave me two choices. Two. Break up or leave everyone I love. Those choices are not validated. There could be other ways, but you chose the ultimatum route. Let tell you something. When you give people an ultimatum, you force their hands. You forced mine. Don’t ever let me hear you complain about it.”
“I’m not the bad guy here.”
“I never said you were. You just have a pretty fucked up way of dealing with things. Bye, Dean.” Without saying anymore, Ellen walked from the lab.
Dean stared for moment, really wanting to chase her down and talk more. The digs he tossed out to continue the argument failed. Ellen made her choice in the stand Dean had made and he would have to live with it and now live with it alone.
<><><><>
“Shit.” Robbie flew from the last storage building staring at his watch. Why he agreed to help Frank do armory inventory was beyond him. He knew it would take three hours and that in turn made Robbie two hours late for meeting Henry. But Frank came before Henry and since he and Frank made up he didn’t want to turn him down and start a fight again.
From where the storage buildings were to center town Robbie raced at top speed. Earlier in the day he promised not only himself but Henry that he would not be late for doing drywall. When he saw Henry storming from containment, Robbie knew he wanted to stop him first then apologize. “Henry,” Robbie called as he jotted to him.
“Robbie, where ...”
“Look.” Robbie came off humble. “I am so sorry. Frank asked me to do armory inventory and I ...”
“I’m really tired of your excuses, Robbie. It’s always. Frank asked me. Joe asked me. What about your responsibility to the job you agreed to take?”
“Stop.” Robbie held up a hand. “Didn’t I just apologize to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you bitching.”
“Apologies don’t always cut it. You always apologize and never mean it. You promised this morning you would be there to put up the Skills Room drywall.”
“I know.”
“You failed to show up.”
“Henry, I know.”
“Then you expect me to ...”
“Henry!” Robbie screamed. “I’m telling you right now. I apologized. If you ever take this dick stand with me again I swear I’ll lay you out.”
“You think you scare me, Robbie?” Henry tilted his head while questioning him. “You have a responsibility.”
“I have many.”
“Then live up to them all.”
“I do!”
“Bullshit!” Henry bodily yelled. “I see you every single night at six o’clock doing nothing.”
Robbie laughed. “What? You think I should work all the time like you?”
“What the hell else do you have to do? You complain you took on all this work. Well, if you are going to take it on then you’d better find the hours to do it. We all have things we have to do. We’re all putting in extra everywhere. You made it clear that Containment was your baby. Raise your baby, Robbie, and quit making everyone do your work.”
“Quit bitching at me.”
“Quit being so lazy.”
“I’m doing the best I can so get off my back!” Robbie leaned into Henry.
“Bullshit!”
“Bullshit?” Robbie leaned closer.
“What is this? Some sort of
intimidation tactic. Back off.” Henry shoved him.
“Don’t ever fuckin’ push me again, Henry.” Robbie shoved him back.
“Stay out of my face.” Both hands went out and Henry slammed them against Robbie’s chest.
Robbie took a step back and immediately grabbed for Henry’s shirt, raising a fist at the same time Henry’s raised his.
The voice was loud and deep and the tromp-tromp-tromp of combat boots was right behind the blast. “Knock it off! Right now! What the fuck.” Jonas reached in-between the two men, extended his arms, separated them, and pushed them away from each other. “You want to settle this petty shit physically then you find another way without using your fist. And you find another place other than town!” Jonas scolded them both. “Now keep up the petty arguing and I’ll have Joe tie you both up and lock you in a room together. You got that!”
Robbie and Henry no longer thought about fighting, Both of them stared wide eyed, mouths open, and with a shocked expression at Jonas.
“I asked ... . do you got that!” Jonas, red faced, looked at them both.
Robbie and Henry nodded.
“Good.” Jonas stepped back. “Shake hands.” He saw neither of them did. Then deeply and sounding like Frank, he yelled again. “I said shake hands!”
Quickly Henry and Robbie, half-ass, shook hands.
“Now get back to work.” As soon as Jonas turned around, he was greeted with an abundance of applause from everyone who must have stood on the street watching. “Oh.” Jonas giggled and his voice returned to normal.
Frank walked up to him still clapping. “Excellent job. You do that when we get those survivors in here and no one will give you shit.”
“I really did good?” Jonas gasped out with enthusiasm.
“Yes.”
“Oh.” With a double snappy clap, Jonas did a quick jumping skip. “Oh.” He turned around to everyone. “Did you see me? Did everyone see me?” He laughed “I have to tell Maggie. She’s not here.”
A tad of disappointment hit Frank’s face when he watched Jonas, arms up some, hands flopping about with each step, running in fast tiny steps to the bakery.
Joe saw Frank’s face. He walked up to him and laid his hand on his back. “You did the best you could. Good job with Jonas. Just remember, Frank, like you can’t take the country out of the boy, there are just some things you can’t take out of Jonas.”
The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20 Page 24