Milo's Journey

by Barbara Howard

  Brad was on a bullhorn commanding that all the residents and visitors to “Get out! Get out Now!” Many of them were grappling with bags and boxes of their personal belongings. Some only with a few mementos and blankets, holding hands and running along the paths. It was like a horror movie but far worse because these were people that she knew in real life. She was watching their lives fall apart in real time, and it was more frightening than anything she could ever imagine.

  Randall was wrestling with his protective gear when he spotted Traci through the crowd as she stood trembling with the noise and commotion surrounding her. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of him. Her arms reached out for him, then dropped to her sides. He rushed over to confront her.

  “Where's Remy?” he shouted.

  “With Candace.”

  “Go home!” He turned away from her again, adjusted his boots, snapped close the protective jacket and pulled on the respirator.

  “Randall ...”

  The roof of the management office collapsed under the flames and embers splashed on the ground around the people as they screamed and ran toward the highway. More emergency workers arrived riding in the bed of Sal’s Plumbing and Sewage pickup truck. Traci saw Moe helping several of the residents make their way down the gravel path out of harm’s way. There was a small explosion in the maintenance shed and a burst of flames lit up the scene. The shed was totally consumed in minutes. They had installed safeguards and sprinklers throughout the campgrounds, but the fire was beyond their capacity.

  Randall turned and waved frantically for Traci to move back, pointing to the clearing near one of the EMT wagons. The wooden roof over the community play area came crashing down into the sand causing a cloud of smoke and grit to rise up and envelope a group of families as they fled.

  “Randall, please ...” Traci cried out, then began coughing and gagging on the smog. He shook his head, glanced around and joined her again. She placed her hands on his arms to steady herself, and looked around frantically. What could she say? What could she do? She opened her mouth and every one of her fears came spilling out. “I don't know ... Randall, it's just ... the police found those dead bodies and arrested me, then all the construction permits and invoices came due with no way to pay them, and now this. I just ... What I said about you being jealous about Ray ... I should have told you ... And now everything’s gone.”

  Randall pulled down his respirator and gathered his gear into one hand. With the other hand, he grabbed a fist full of Traci’s shirt and pulled her against his chest. He looked deeply into her eyes. He didn't try to hide his desperation, anger, and frustration. Everything about their lives was raw before them in that moment.

  “I don't care about that. None of it,” he shouted. “I don't care about Ray, about what you said, or I said. You're my wife, Tracinda. You need to trust me. I want you to come to me first. Always.” He waited for her eyes to focus on his and continued, “But it’s your call. Right now, if you say the word, I'll stand right here with you and watch this place burn to the ground.” He placed his lips against her cheek. “But, if you still want to fight, we'll fight.” He held his breath and waited again.

  She leaned into his embrace and whispered, “Fight.”

  He put on his respirator, turned away from her and disappeared into the crowd. She gripped her hair and watched as the news crews scrambled to line up the video cameras for the perfect angle of the devastation. She thought she heard the sound of helicopters overhead, but she couldn’t see through the smoke. Please let it be the firefighters. Please.

  Josh had entrusted her with his legacy and the lives of the people residing at the campgrounds. Now she was watching her love, the father of her only son rush toward the flames to protect it. It was more than she could bear. Her legs grew weak beneath her and she began sobbing uncontrollably. She felt a hand slip around her shoulder, and she was nudged into the man’s arms. She buried her face in his chest, her heart racing as she tried to shut out the sounds of the turmoil happening around them.

  What if Randall didn’t make it back? So many people were depending on her and there was nothing she could do but wait until more help arrived and hope that the fire would be contained until then. And that no one died that night. “Please God, protect them all,” she whispered. Finally, she took a deep breath, opened her eyes and looked into the face of the man comforting her. It was Ray.

  “I assume the brothers are out there beating back the flames. Where's Milo?” he asked in his usual flat tone.

  “With the horses,” she said and began digging through her pockets for a tissue. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and offered his handkerchief. She refused and he wiped the tear stains from his lapel and replaced the cloth to his pants pocket.

  “Of course, he is. I guess that’s to be expected. Where did all these emergency workers come from?”

  “From across the tri-county. They monitor the emergency frequency on their scanners. Some are first responders, but most of them are volunteers doing whatever they can.”

  “Across the tri-county?” He wrinkled his brow and stared at her. “For this place?”

  “Yes, Ray.” She pushed herself away from him. “Yes, for this place.” She glared at him. “If you're not here to help, why are you here?”

  “To watch my money burn, apparently.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “And the death of all your hopes and dreams. Appears to be a total loss here. So, what are you going to do now, my dear?”

  Traci stepped toward him again. Her face was tense, her lungs ached from inhaling the smog, the ash floated like feathers onto her hair and the ground around her feet. She could feel the words spitting forth from her mouth like the flames crackling in the trees around them. She felt dangerous, not in danger, like she could drive her fingernails into his throat and not care at all how they dealt with her afterwards. She should step away, calm down, take a breath, count to ...

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen, Ray!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, then started coughing, cleared her throat and continued, “But, here's one thing I do know. I was wrong about you.” She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve so hard it made her nose bleed. She didn’t care and walked straight up to his face.

  “I didn't want to believe it. That you were as cold and heartless as you let on. I thought it was like ... a wall you put up to keep people away. But the truth is,” she took a deep breath and planted her feet, “the truth is, that's who you really are. Deep down, you only think about you. That’s all. Seriously, is there anyone you actually care about besides yourself?”

  He looked past her into the crowd of people that were rushing through the trails, the men revving up chainsaws, carrying axes and buckets into the woods, the flames that were leaping overhead. “Yes.” He looked back at her. “Yes, there is.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Milo

  RAY PEERED THROUGH the half-opened door. “Do we have an appointment that I’m unaware of? The answer to that is “No” in case you’re having trouble remembering.”

  The unfriendly welcome hit Milo in the gut, but he kept his cool and responded, “Can I come in or what?”

  Ray pushed the door open wider, rolled his eyes and walked back into his living room. Milo followed behind him, glanced around at the spacious surrounds and blinked to refocus. It was hard to imagine living in a place like that. At least the cabin he shared with Moe had not been damaged during the fire but so many other people had been displaced. He didn’t need a luxury penthouse but looking around at what was possible made his head spin.

  “I wanted to ask you about something,” he said.

  “Is that right?” Ray said and sat down.

  “If you don’t mind.”

  “Of course, I mind but you’re here so what is it? By the way, I saw you during the fire last week. Very dangerous situation. What were you thinking?”

  “Oh yeah, it was definitely dangerous. I really didn’t think about that at th
e time. But, if you ask me, I was more nervous about coming to see you today than I was that night. It was all a blur, honestly. I was kinda all over the place until the Forest Service firefighters got there and took over. The main thing was I had to get the horses out and into the trailers. Then I helped put out the fire at the marina. Whatever I could do ...”

  “Why?”

  “The marina was the most important because of all the oil and gas. If that got out of control, everything would’ve been gone. I mean, an explosion would’ve taken out everything.”

  “And everyone.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, though. Why?”

  “Why did I do it? You mean, why did I help?”

  “Yes, exactly. Why?”

  “Well ... That’s not the real question. The real question is, why didn’t you?”

  “You wouldn’t understand my lack of motivation to put my life at risk for something like that, I suppose. I have no emotional attachment to buildings or land. It’s beyond me how people ...”

  “What about your money? You’ve put a lot of money into Wyman’s. I know about that.”

  “Insurance. I get my money back either way. If it stands, or gets sold, or burns down. It makes no difference to me.”

  “Wow.”

  “They probably didn’t teach you that in school.”

  “I guess not.”

  “And, the real question is, why are you here?”

  “Right.” Milo ran through his mental checklist and started to explain. “My girl suggested that I ...”

  “If this is about your relationship with some girl, I am not the least bit interested.”

  “No, it was her idea that I ... Well, never mind that part. What I mean is ...”

  “Let me help you again. Skip to the part of this conversation that I need to know and don’t tell me the rest. Just fast forward, okay? Got that?”

  “Okay. Well, here.” Milo dropped the notebook on the table that he had been safeguarding for months.

  “What is this?”

  “My DNA results and ...”

  “And, why should I care?”

  “Just look at it, okay?”

  Ray picked up the notebook and flipped it open, took out the loose pages and scanned over them. “So, you’re a Winston.”

  “Yeah, my grandparents and your ...”

  “Yes,” he hissed. “I can read.”

  “I just thought that ... Now that we know, I mean, we’re related and ...”

  “I see.” Ray walked over to his desk, opened the drawer and dropped the notebook inside. “There are some advantages and benefits to being a Winston. No doubt you’re aware of that also. And, you’re here to cash in. Correct?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Alright. You’re here to find out what you are entitled to have or do now that you know a little bit about your heritage. Is that it?” He picked up the report again, flipped through the pages and approached Milo.

  “No, no. I have a job and my own business. I make my own way. That’s not it at all.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I guess, I wanted to just ... talk.”

  “Talk?”

  “Yeah, and maybe see if we had more in common than a name. And ... “

  “And?”

  “And ... nothing.” Milo snatched the paper away from Ray and walked to the open door.

  “This news changes nothing between us. You know that, right?”

  “Right. Nothing.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Traci

  “I SEE A GIRL,” TRACI said as she peeked through the lace curtains of her kitchen window. “She’s carrying a box of something. I think she’s moving in. Yep, I bet that’s it. The trunk is open and it’s full of boxes!”

  “Fine, that’s good. You’ve been watching that house like a hawk ever since they took down the ‘For Sale’ sign,” Randall said and grabbed a bag of veggie chips from the pantry. He opened the back door and shouted, “Brad, what’s the score now? How many points we got?”

  “You don’t wanna know, bro. Imagine the worst score, then subtract ten. Your alma mater is getting whooped.” Brad shouted back, laughed and turned up the volume on the T.V.

  “Man, we need a new coach. What happened to what’s his name? Calhoun?”

  “Randall, I’m going next door.” Traci said and closed the curtains.

  “Nope, don’t do it.” Randall caught R.J. around the belly as he wobbled across the kitchen floor and hoisted him onto his shoulders.

  “Just to say “Hello” and a little “Welcome to the neighborhood” sorta thing.” She smoothed her hair down and slipped an elastic band around it. “After all the work I did to help set up the incentives for home ownership in this part of Magnolia Grove, before they fired me.” She growled and made a face. “I want to see that something good came from it.”

  “Tracinda ...”

  “I think I heard hammering coming from inside, too. Come on, I need some good news right now.” Traci kissed little Remy and checked his gums. “Oh, two more new teeth. Don’t bite Daddy.” She kissed Randall’s cheek, “I won’t stay long. Be right back!”

  Traci fluffed her ponytail and checked both of her ear lobes. One of her earrings was missing. “Dog gone it, how do I keep losing them?” She unsnapped the remaining earring and stashed it in her pocket, then swiped on a bit of Red Dahlia tinted lip balm and dashed out the front door. She hopped off the porch and met the young woman at the sidewalk. “Can I help you with this?”

  “Oh, sure. Thanks, that’s so nice of you.”

  “Are you moving in? Is this your place now?”

  “No, it belongs to my boyfriend.”

  “Really?”

  “It doesn’t look like much right now but ...”

  “Oh, I understand! You should’ve seen my place when I first bought it. No, on second thought, I’m glad you didn’t. It was in terrible shape!” Traci said as she lifted one of the boxes and followed the young woman to the house at 222 Spring Street. As they approached the yard, a tall shadow appeared in the front door.

  “Hello neighbor.” Milo called out to Traci and opened his arms to greet her.

  “What? What? This is your house?” Traci dropped the box on the ground and rushed up the porch steps into his arms.

  “Yeah, surprise.” He laughed. Traci screamed with delight. Randall stepped up behind her with R.J. in tow.

  “Did you know?” Traci wagged her finger at him.

  “Maybe.” Randall grinned. Traci hugged Milo, stepped back and looked up at him, then hugged him even tighter.

  Milo broke free from the embrace and turned toward the young woman entering the room. “This is Juliana.”

  “Jules,” she held out her hand, but Traci pulled her in for a tight bear hug.

  “So, are you part of the big secret, as well?”

  “I guess so.” Jules blushed and glanced at Milo, then picked up one of the boxes. “I’ll put these in the kitchen.”

  A car pulled up in front of the house and stopped. Randall peered out the window and said, “I only know one person that can afford a car like that.”

  Ray parked his black Lotus Evora GT on the opposite side of the street. He climbed out, stroked his beard, adjusted his sunglasses and slammed the door. He tucked a leather portfolio under his arm, set the alarm, dropped the key fob into his pocket, and crossed the street. He hesitated at the sidewalk in front of the house and lowered his sunglasses. He looked over the exterior walls and roof, then joined them inside. “Ah, everyone is here. So, this will be quick.”

  “Good,” Randall said.

  “What are you doing here?” Milo asked and stepped forward.

  “I wanted to congratulate you on this ... purchase.” Ray glanced around. Peeling paint hung in long sheets from the ceiling along with the empty broken light fixtures. The flooring throughout was a disgusting checkered linoleum tile and plaster crumbled at the base
of each wall. The wooden mantle piece leaned to one side and soot covered half of the living room floor.

  “So everyone knew about this but me.” Traci gave Milo a side-eye glance.

  “I didn’t tell him.” Milo said and shook his head. “I swear.”

  “A property was sold in Keeferton.” Traci said. “So, yeah, of course, Ray would know about it.”

  “What do you want?” Randall glared at Ray and lifted R.J. onto his arm.

  “Well, I’m dissolving our partnership.” Ray looked past Randall into Traci’s eyes. “This is not a buy-out. I don’t want ownership.”

  “Why, what about ...” Traci tried not to panic in front of everyone. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. Everything at Wyman’s was at a standstill until the insurance investigators were finished and there was no revenue to cover repairs and outstanding liabilities. If there ever was a time that she needed a financial backer for the business, it was now.

  “I’ve already had the documents prepared. Perriman and Associates are the best firm in the tri-county area. Don’t bother trying to fight it.”

  “Oh, we’re not going to fight it. Good riddance.” Randall said and stood behind Traci.

  “Randall ...” she whispered over her shoulder.

  “If you’re concerned about funding the repairs, and you should be,” Ray continued, “I’m going to pay for the rebuild. No strings attached. Well, that’s not exactly true. There are a few terms you’ll have to accept.”

  “No surprise there.” Randall grumbled.

  “Randall, please.” Traci stepped closer to Ray and lowered her voice. “You know what we’re up against now with the arson investigation and ...”

  “Spare me, of course I know. You need a partner. Otherwise, the place will never recover and will be sold at the next county auction. You learned enough at S&K to know how these things work. I had the proposal drawn up to avoid a legal hassle with you and the rest of your ... people. I’ve set my terms. Take it or leave it.”