Bob chuckled and handed Bill a plate.
Bill grabbed the meat with his bare hands and took a huge bit.
“My God this good,” Bill drooled as he quickly swallowed and shoved a leg into his mouth.
“Take it easy Old Timer,” Bob chuckled. “Enjoy it, make it last. Who knows when we will ever have anything like this again.”
Bill chewed the meat off the leg bone, set the bone down and then licked the remaining taste off his fingers.
“There is only one thing that would make this even better than it is,” Bill smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “A cold beer.”
“Well, now that you mention it,” Bob said as he grabbed his cane and began to struggle to his feet.
“You have beer,” Bill said excitedly. “No shit! Honest? You have beer? Where the hell did you get beer? Did Kevin find some beer on one of his runs?”
“No,” Bob said as he staggered over to the sink. The mention of Kevin’s name made the muscles on the back of his neck tighten with worry. “I have three cans of beer left that I have been saving for almost eight months. I was saving it for something special, but with the way things are, this is probably as special as things are ever going to get.”
“You need some help getting the beer?” Bill asked as he watched Bob struggle to get to his knees to get the beer out from under the sink.
“I don’t need your damn help,” Bob shot back.
Bill sat patiently while he watched Bob drag three rusty cans out from under the sink, get back to his feet and return to the table with the cans.
“I hope it is still good,” Bob said as he dropped back down into his chair. “The cans are a little rusty.”
“That’s Iron City beer,” Bill grinned, “Iron City never goes bad.”
“That’s because this shit was never any damn good to start with,” Bob smiled as he handed Bill a can.
Both men popped their tabs at the same time.
“Sounds fresh to me,” Bill said.
“We’ll see,” Bob said as he held up his can to make a toast. “To us Old Timer and to the future, may there be a future.”
Bill raised his can and looked at Bob, “To Kevin.”
“To Kevin,” Bob replied, “I’m worried Bill.”
“Me too, Mac,” Bill replied. “Me too.”
They sat quietly and ate their meal and drank their beer as they listened to the increasing sounds of the dead on the streets of Bolivar.
The sounds seemed to be getting louder and closer.
“Shit,” Bob thought, “It sounds like Kevin will have a hard time getting close to the house after he gets back to town.”
Then another thought crossed his mind, “Maybe Kevin is already in town, He just can’t get back to house right now and is hold up somewhere else.”
There was another possibility that crept into Bob’s mind, but he quickly tried to think about something else.
Anything else that would keep him from considering the other option.
What passed for life now was hell.
He didn’t even want to think about the other possibility that would make life worse.
Chapter 6
September, One year ago
Kevin grabbed his car keys and started for the door.
Bill and Bob were sitting on the porch drinking a beer.
“Dad, I probably won’t be home until late tonight, so don’t wait up for me,” Kevin said.
“Tell Lisa I said Hi,” Bob replied.
“So, you are going out with Lisa,” Bill grinned.
“Yeah, we’re going to the carnival in Armagh,” Kevin replied.
“Your old man and I were just talking. Since you’re going to be with Lisa all day, maybe you could find out something that we were wondering about?” Bill asked. The smile on his face went from ear to ear.
“Now Bill, you know some things are better just left to your imagination,” Bob said. “We shouldn’t be asking Kevin about private things like that.”
“That’s just what they tell old farts like us,” Bill replied, “You were young once and know that is just a bunch of shit. I would like to know if what we were talking about is real or you know, artificial. My imagination isn’t so good anymore.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up. “Those two dirty old men,” he thought.
“No way,” Kevin laughed out loud.
“No way? You don’t think you will be able to find out?” Bill asked. “I find that hard to believe, I think she likes you and wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
“Now Bill, you know Kevin is a gentleman,” Bob added.
“No way in that it is none of your business,” Kevin laughed, “I can’t believe you two.”
“I think all you would have to do is ask, or just touch it. I know she would let you touch it,” Bill said. “You know if it’s fake it feels different than the real thing. At least that is what I’ve heard.”
“Now Bill, it’s their first date in a long time,” Bob said. “You don’t want Kevin to get into hot water. Some women can be a little defensive about that subject. Maybe on the second date he can find out for us.”
“Forget it,” Kevin protested.
“He probably knows the answer already,” Bill said, “They were sitting awful close out there yesterday. From what I saw, I’m sure he already knows or could at least make a good guess.”
“You and Lisa have a good time and don’t mind us,” Bob said. “You’re right. It’s none of our business.”
Kevin shook his head and started to walk off the porch and down the steps.
“I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” Bill said. “Your old man says that is her real hair, I say she either dyes it or is wearing a wig. No one has hair that red. If someone asked me if I dyed my hair, it wouldn’t get me all upset or anything.”
“Just drop it Bill, OK,” Bob said.
“Of course you would get pissed off, because you don’t have any damn hair,” Bill replied.
Kevin stopped at the bottom of the steps and chuckled to himself.
Without turning around, he said, “It’s her real hair.”
And then continued to walk out through the yard to his car.
“I told you it was real,” Kevin could hear his dad telling Bill as he opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat.
“I’ve only been around those two for one day and my mind is already in the gutter,” Kevin laughed to himself.
Kevin pulled into the drive way at Lisa’s house.
Her house was only three blocks away and only took a minute to make the drive.
There wasn’t any traffic in Bolivar, in fact Kevin had only seen one other car driving through Bolivar since he arrived home yesterday.
Mr. Murphy was sitting on the porch when Kevin arrived.
He didn’t seem very happy to see Kevin and just sat on the swing, swinging back and forth as he glared out at Kevin.
“Hi Mr. Murphy,” Kevin said. “Is Lisa ready?”
“Kevin,” Mr. Murphy nodded his head in recognition. “Where are you taking my daughter today?”
“I already told you,” Lisa said cheerfully as she pushed open the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. Today she was wearing jean shorts, a baggy red shirt and a white ball cap. A small white leather purse with a long strap was slung over her shoulder. “Kevin and I are going to the carnival together. He isn’t taking me anywhere.”
Lisa walked over to her dad, leaned down and kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry Daddy, I’ll be fine, I’m a big girl. You know Kevin is a gentleman.”
Her dad didn’t say anything, he just made a noise that sounded like, “Hump!”
Lisa straightened up and turned towards Kevin and smiled, “I’m ready. I hear they have a fifty-foot high Ferris-wheel at the carnival. I love riding Ferris-wheels.”
“Then let’s go,” Kevin smiled, trying not to look at Mr. Murphy, whose penetrating stare was making Kevin feel uncomfortable.<
br />
Kevin purposely didn’t hold Lisa’s hand on the way to the car, he knew Mr. Murphy was watching them closely as they walked to the car.
He opened the passenger’s door for Lisa, then walked around and got into the driver’s seat.
Kevin started the car and drove slowly away from the house.
When he turned onto the main road and the car began to accelerate, he let out his breath and looked at Lisa, “What was up with you dad?”
Lisa laughed, “He tried to talk me out of going out with you today.”
“Why?” Kevin asked.
“He doesn’t trust you,” Lisa grinned.
“Why wouldn’t your dad trust me,” Kevin asked, “He knows me and my dad and as far as I know, he doesn’t know anything about what we did that summer.”
“I think it’s the old story that he doesn’t trust me. I think he is worried about what we are up to. He used to tell me that I was always entirely too happy to see you when you came over to see me, so I’m sure he has always suspected that you were up to something,” Lisa grinned.
“At least he didn’t overhear us talking yesterday,” Kevin said sounding relieved.
“He didn’t hear anything,” Lisa replied, “But he said he was upset about how you were looking at my shirt.”
“Sorry,” Kevin said. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Don’t worry, I lied to him to calm him down,” Lisa said as her old familiar ornery grin spread over her face. “I told him you noticed I was in a sorority that was also a sorority at Indiana. I said you were just reading my shirt and we were talking about school.”
“That’s not a lie,” Kevin said.
“Of course not,” Lisa smiled. “But I’m sure he thought something else was going on. He obviously had his eye on where your eyes were looking, so I couldn’t possibly imagine what he thought you were really looking at.”
Kevin was relieved when Lisa didn’t wait for him to comment on her innuendo.
He wasn’t sure how open he should be just yet.
He had almost forgotten how she liked to try and make him feel uncomfortable at times, in a cute sort of way.
It was her way a manipulating him so she could get what she wanted and she always seemed to get what she wanted.
Fortunately, what Lisa wanted, was usually also what he had wanted.
It had made for one amazing summer that year before they both had left for school.
It was also why he had felt so bad about not hearing from Lisa after his numerous attempts to contact her that first semester at school.
Kevin was happy that he might now have a second chance with Lisa, but he wanted to make sure she was his old Lisa first before he let things go too far.
He was worried that after two years of being a Zeta, that her flirty behavior had a different meaning or purpose now than the lovable semi-innocent behavior of his old Lisa.
She was obviously an attractive girl, but there were a lot of attractive girls at school. Most of whom were stuck on themselves and didn’t have any real interest in more than a short fling.
Kevin didn’t have any problem with a short fling, but if that was all it was going to be, he wanted to know first.
He didn’t want to express how he was feeling, if how he felt no longer mattered to Lisa.
A lot of deep feelings had resurfaced within him after seeing Lisa yesterday.
Deep down, he hoped that he and Lisa might be able to pick up where they had left off.
If this wasn’t what she had in mind, if she was a different girl now, if she no longer had any real feeling for him, he would just have to accept the fact that he blew it two years ago and he would have to move on.
He could kick himself for not trying harder to contact her back then and for giving up so easy.
Kevin decided that today he and Lisa would just have fun and see what happened.
It would be what it would be.
He could hope, but he also knew if things with Lisa weren’t what he was hoping for, there probably wasn’t much he could do to change it.
Two years was a long time.
He would only have himself to blame.
“Did you find a phone store where we can go to buy you a cell phone?” Lisa asked.
“We’ll drive by New Florence, I think there should be a place to buy a phone there,” Kevin replied.
“Good, you need to have a cell phone,” Lisa said.
“How much do cell phone plans cost?,” Kevin asked. “I never got a phone because I always heard how expensive they were. I’m not sure I can afford one if I have to pay more than twenty dollars a month.”
“Don’t worry, we can get you one like mine,” Lisa said as she held up a little black box not much bigger than a pack of matches. She slid her fingers over the phone and it flipped open.
“What’s that?” Kevin asked, “Where is the screen? All the phones I see the guys using at school have big screens and they are all ten times that size.”
“You’re describing a smart phone, this is an old-style flip phone. It’s not good for anything other than making phone calls. I can’t take pictures or look up stuff on the internet but I can at least talk to my mom,” Lisa replied, “I can’t afford a smart phone.”
Kevin continued to look at Lisa’s little phone, “How much did that one cost?”
“I bought it for five dollars at a drug store in Boston,” Lisa answered. “It’s a TracFone. You buy a prepaid card and add minutes to your phone as you need them or can afford it. There aren’t any monthly payments. I bought a card for a hundred dollars that is good for a year and two thousand minutes.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Kevin smiled. “I think I can afford something like that.”
“Two thousand minutes should be enough if you only use it to call me at school once a week,” Lisa smiled. “They would last even longer if you would come up and visit me on the weekends.”
Kevin smiled, “That’s a long drive and costs money, where would I stay?”
“If you came to Boston, you had better be planning on staying with me,” Lisa grinned. “My roommate spends most of her time at the frat house, so we would have the room to ourselves all weekend. It wouldn’t cost you anything and you know I would make sure you enjoyed your visit.”
Kevin laughed, “Would we be safe there? I wouldn’t want a naked picture of me to end up in the entryway next to yours?”
“I think that would look cute,” Lisa grinned. “I think we make a nice couple. Give me a weekend and I bet I could talk you into posing for a picture with me. You know, like I did out behind the ballfield.”
Kevin looked over at Lisa and rolled his eyes and shook his head as he laughed.
“I still have the picture too,” Lisa giggled.
“I hope it isn’t anywhere where your dad will find it,” Kevin laughed. “The next time I come over, he might be waiting on the swing with a shotgun.”
“No, I have it hanging in my room at school,” Lisa said with a straight face, “the old Polaroid is really faded. I think we need to take a new one. I was going to toss it out, but I just couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. There is just something about that picture that I like.”
“You’re bad,” Kevin laughed.
“No I’m not, I’m a good girl,” Lisa smiled. “It’s just when I’m around you I’m bad. You seem to bring out the worst in me for some reason. Maybe my dad’s right, I should keep away from you before you get any ideas, but I guess it’s already way too late for that.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad influence on you,” Kevin laughed as he drove the car on Route 259 away from Bolivar. “If I would have known this before, I would have stayed away from you. Maybe I should turn around and take you home before I end up corrupting you any further.”
“I don’t think you really want to do that,” Lisa grinned as she leaned over the console and kissed Kevin on the cheek and whispered in his ear. “You made me what I am and now you’re stuck wi
th me.”
Lisa suddenly became quiet and slid back into the passenger’s seat.
She was silent and sat looking nervous for a minute.
“That is if you want to be stuck with me,” Lisa said softly. “I’m sorry Kevin, I didn’t mean to come on to you so strong. I know it’s been two years and I can’t expect you to still have the same feelings for me. I loved what we had and have never been able to let it go. You probably have moved on and have some hot little girlfriend waiting for you back at school. I guess I should just be happy that you are being nice to me and are willing to take me to the carnival.”
“Do you still have feelings for me?” Kevin asked quietly He could feel his heart beating rapidly as a wave of heat rushed over his face.
“Why else would I be making an ass out of myself if I didn’t still have feelings for you,” Lisa replied as she continued to look straight ahead, trying to avoid looking at Kevin.
“I wasn’t sure if you did or not,” Kevin answered. “I didn’t want to make an ass out of myself. I guess even more than that, as I’ve seemed to have made an ass out of myself more than I would like to admit, I didn’t want to be disappointed.”
“So, do you still have any feelings for me or are you just being nice?” Lisa asked.
Kevin pulled the car to the side of the road.
He pulled Lisa over towards him and gave her a long kiss. A longer kiss than he had intended. Memories of that summer flooded his mind as Lisa squeezed him, pressing her warm soft body tightly against him as she passionately kissed him back.
One Hour to Live Page 5