by Ho, Jo
Every morning, Bandit and I would go head-to-head at the game and I’d only have to report to Sully if anything seemed off. So far (touch wood), I’d never had to tell him anything other than I was pretty sure Bandit cheated. He read voraciously and retained all the knowledge, so much so that despite my own photographic memory, most days he won.
It was a strange feeling to know that you were constantly being bested by a dog.
We did a couple of rounds of questioning when Sully popped his head out the door at us. “It’s time, fella.”
Bandit slid the stylus and iPad into his pouch and went with Sully to the barn. I watched Sully, noticing he still walked with a limp. Zeb had been making him do these dance-like exercises every day. They were supposed to rehab his leg, but Sully always complained that he was “no damn ballerina.” Gid and I were banned from ever going into the barn where he did them, however, because of how we’d reacted the first time we had snuck in. Let’s just say you could hear us laughing clear across the state. Bandit always joined Sully in these sessions though not to dance, that would be stupid. While Sully worked his muscles, the two of them would do physical checks on Bandit. I watched them go through them all once but they weren’t very exciting to see so I usually just left them to it.
As they disappeared into the barn together, I cleared up the dishes in the kitchen then went back to my room.
3
Chase
After Bandit’s physical, we headed into town.
Sully and Sam had been talking about the possibility of me going back to school for a while now, but I really, really didn’t want to go. Just picturing myself in a classroom every day caused me to panic. I knew it was stupid, I mean, look what we had gone through already. I’d taken out Forbes and his men, what the heck were teenagers going to do to me? But I’ve seen Mean Girls. I knew I wouldn’t fit in. I never have, and the thought of having to try five days a week was getting me down, not least because I’d be away from Bandit so much — it was unthinkable. But whenever I said no, Sam would talk about how important an education was to get further in life. She’d bring up what I wanted to do in the future, asking difficult questions like that. The reality was, I’d never given any of it any thought. So much of my life before was just about surviving. I didn’t know if I’d see another day, who had time to worry about the future? I never got further than wondering where my next meal would come from, or if after I went to sleep in someone’s doorway, whether I’d wake up again the next day.
I hoped to God that wasn’t what the two wanted to discuss this morning. That would suck big time.
Since I was still too young to drive, Sully had gotten me a bicycle. I moaned about it a bit — didn’t want him to think I was easy — but secretly; I was thrilled. I’d never had one as a kid and the luxury I felt now, in being able to get about so much further and faster than if I’d been walking was an independence I loved. Bandit too, adored running beside me, but like most dogs, he never seemed to know how much was too much, so Gideon had built a special dog seat for him that we had attached to the back of the bike. It was Sully who had warned me about this. Apparently, dogs were so thrilled to play and be with their owners that they wouldn’t stop running beside them, but their little bodies weren’t built for distance. Some get so overexcited that they won’t stop until they become weak and collapse! This is an actual condition!
I figured Bandit to be smarter than that, but even then, I didn’t want to risk it. So I always set a timer on my phone when we headed out. I let him run for up to fifteen minutes straight, but then he needs to ride behind me. Bandit had no problem with this and treated it like car rides. His tongue would hang out and he’d look positively blissful. When I’d asked about it before, about what it was that made him so happy, he said it felt like he was swimming in air.
My dog, the poet. Who’d have thought it?
We arrived at a garage on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t a big production, but Warrey always seemed to have six or so vehicles being worked on. It was one of the reasons he’d hired Gid. Business had been picking up, and he wasn’t able to manage on his own. Gid happened to call on him at the right time and when he showed Warrey how handy he was, he was hired on the spot. Rock blasted out from a stereo — not Gideon’s choice I know since he preferred alternative styles.
Warrey came over from the truck he was inspecting. Grease stains covered his T-shirt, and he had a bandana tied around his head. Sam had commented before on how good-looking Warrey was, I remembered as Sully had scowled for the rest of the day. Seeing me, he waved a wrench in greeting.
“Chase. How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know. Boring. How about you?” I asked.
“I could regale you with the excellent work I’m doing on this engine right here, but I figure that’s not going to help your mood any.”
“You’d be right.”
Bandit trotted up to him and gave him a small lick on the hand. Warrey patted him absently on the head as he called out over the music. “Gid, visitors for you.”
There was a clang as tools were dropped, then Gideon slid out from beneath the car he was working on. Like Warrey, his shirt was also covered with stains, but where the older man wore a T-shirt, Gideon had only a sleeveless vest, one that showed off his toned arms… which I’d noticed quite a lot recently. He came towards me, one brow raised in question.
“Everything all right?”
“Yeah, we’re just visiting. I took Bandit out for a run and we just found ourselves here.”
I was about to say something else just as lame when I caught a figure moving from the corner of my eye. It was a guy, older than Sully but younger than Zeb. His long gray hair fell into his face as he struggled to maneuver a removal box up the fire escape outside using a pulley system that Warrey must have rigged up some time ago, judging by the screech that now sounded.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Erik someone. Warrey finally found a replacement for his old tenant. He works in IT.”
“What’s an IT guy doing in the middle of nowhere? This town barely has wifi.”
Gideon shrugged. “I don’t know, didn’t ask.”
“How come?”
“He doesn’t look that exciting to me. If you have questions, you can bother him yourself.”
He just finished talking when Erik lost his handhold on the box and its contents crashed down the fire escape causing an almighty ruckus. I went to help him. “You OK up there?”
Erik stared down at me, embarrassed. “I’m all fingers and thumbs today.”
I gathered up Erik’s belongings, which mostly consisted of computery things as far as I could make out. “Interesting er, stuff,” I began. “Gideon said you’re into IT.”
Erik nodded, wiping sweat from his brow.
“So what are you doing in the middle of nowhere? Most of the folks around here don’t even use email.” The question popped out before I realized it could be construed as rude. I hoped he would know I was just making conversation, shooting the breeze as Sully would say.
Erik smiled, looking at me with his piercing blue eyes.
“That’s actually why I’m here. I lived in the city for twenty years and I’m sick of it now. The slow pace and fresh air will do me the world of good. Besides, city people aren’t very friendly. I wanted to be in a place where everyone knew one another.”
“Well, you’ve found it then,” Gideon said, having joined us on the fire escape. “I’m Gideon, this is Chase.”
“Ah, nice to meet you. Are you two together?” Erik asked. It was an innocent enough question, but I suddenly felt my cheeks turn red.
“No,” Gideon replied, “but we do live together.”
“As a family,” I supplied quickly, “with my dog and some others.”
Erik turned his attention to Bandit, on the ground, watching up at us.
“That’s your dog I take it? He’s a pretty thing.”
I nodded. “His name’s Bandit. Bandit, say
hi,” I called down to him, but Bandit made an agitated move and barked. “He’s usually pretty friendly, he doesn’t like it because he can’t come up the ladder.”
“Understandable,” Erik replied. “Well, thank you both for helping me but I’ve got quite a bit more to move into the apartment so I should get to it.”
“I work in the garage below but if you need a hand with anything, just let me know,” Gideon offered.
“Why thank you, young man. So nice to see not all of your generation have lost their manners.”
I climbed back down the ladder to Bandit’s joy. He bounced up and down like he hadn’t seen me in years — the dufus.
“That was nice of you, offering to help him,” I said to Gideon.
“Are you kidding? Did you see the way he used that cinch? The guy’s going to wreck it then who’s Warrey going to get to fix it? Me. I just did that to save myself hassle in the future.”
“Smart move.”
“Right? They don’t call me Three-Steps-Ahead-Dion for nothing.”
“No one calls you that, you idiot,” I laughed. Bandit barked twice — one bark for yes, two for no — making us both laugh even more.
4
Chase
We hung around until Gideon’s shift was over and the three of us picked up the list of ingredients he and Sam had prepared last night.
Now that our motley family consisted of six, we took turns at cooking, but while I was the clear winner in the baking department, Gideon and Sam proved themselves amazing cooks. Literally, anything they put on the table was TO DIE FOR which is why shopping for groceries had become the highlight of my day. I loved to see how these seemingly unrelated ingredients would come together to form a party in my mouth.
“What is all this?” I asked, looking at the endless list I had just unfolded.
“Don’t know. Sam’s cooking, but she said it’s a surprise.”
“But look at this. There’s bacon, marrow bones — that’s got to be for Bandit — shrimp, steak, and scallops. Scallops, Gid!”
“What about it?”
I shoved the list into his face.
“Don’t you see? These are all our favorite things! Why is Sam cooking this?”
Gideon looked at me as if I was crazy.
“You just said they’re our favorite… why wouldn’t she, would be a better question.”
“You weren’t there this morning but there was something fishy going on. Sully wouldn’t look me in the eye and Sam was being cagey… They’re up to something, I’m telling you.”
Gideon gestured to the shopping cart laden with food. “Well, if they’re going to feed me like this, then I’m a hundred percent behind them.”
He took the list out of my hands and moved on, whistling happily as he pulled items off the shelf, but I couldn’t shake the hollow feeling in my stomach. I hated surprises, and I knew they were going to spring one on us tonight. The food was clearly being used to butter us up.
I looked down at Bandit, who sat, head tilted up at me in question.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, boy. I really have.”
Feeling my anxiety, he whined at me.
5
Chase
I stared at the spread before me.
Our usual — simple — dining table was covered with a decorative tablecloth that had delicately embroidered flowers on the corners. I’m not sure why, but the sight of them had me gaping. I didn’t know things like this existed. Why would anyone think covering a table with a pretty cloth would be a good idea — it was only going to get splattered with food, especially if I got anywhere near it.
The soft light from candles set around the table cast a dreamy glow about the place. Candles and table cloths? Were we trying to burn the place down? I took a seat at the table, staring miserably at Sam and Sully in the kitchen as they finished preparing our meal. Bandit sat as he always did, by my feet, as Gideon strolled in pushing Zeb in his wheelchair.
“Wow, what’s the occasion?” Gideon said.
I could have kicked him, tried in fact, but couldn’t reach him, my legs having become tangled with that stupid tablecloth.
“All in good time,” Sully said.
I knew it! They were up to something! But now I had proof, I didn’t feel the least bit vindicated. There was just a hollow ache in the pit of my stomach. I glanced at Zeb to see if I could gather any hints from him but he looked as clueless as I felt.
“What’s this all about?” he asked, however, Sully and Sam continued as if neither of them heard him.
“Dinner’s ready!” Sam called out suddenly.
She and Sully carried over plates of food for us, but I saw with some confusion, that each plate contained a different meal. Zeb was served a steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. Gideon was given Shrimp Alfredo, a pasta dish. For me, Sam set down a plate of mac n’ cheese with bacon bits (made from real bacon, not that soy trash you get in a tub) and a burger oozing with cheese. As I’d guessed earlier, Bandit got his marrow bones which he was already happily chomping away on. Sully’s scallops were in another pasta dish, while Sam had made herself a chicken stir fry. Through my misery, even I could see that the two had put an enormous amount of effort into the meal.
It made me sick to my stomach.
They sat down, Sam staring at us expectantly. Sully, I don’t know. He looked kinda nervous. He poured himself a glass of water but some of it splashed out of the glass soiling the tablecloth. Good! Stupid tablecloth.
“Well, I know you’re all wondering what’s going on,” she began. “We thought long and hard about what we’re going to say and…”
But I couldn’t wait to hear any more. Shoving my chair back so that it scraped across the floor, I shot to my feet.
“What is it? What is going on?! Can you stop drawing this out and just spit it out?!”
Four human faces and one canine one all turned to me in shock.
“Stop buttering us up with the food. If you’ve got something bad to say, just say it!”
My heart was racing and I could hear thumping in my head. It was like someone was pounding on it with a hammer. It was a miracle really that it didn’t explode. As my words sank in, the shock suddenly disappeared from Sully’s face and his expression turned contrite.
“Oh hell, Chase, I’m sorry. It never crossed my mind you’d be thinking this was something bad.”
And now Sam looked apologetic.
“Hon, this isn’t bad news. It’s good news.”
“It is?” I managed to get out.
Sam smiled over at Sully and reached for his hand. “Yes. Sully and I have decided… we’re getting married.”
Zeb and Gideon must have cheered or something, but I wasn’t really sure as the blood was still pounding in my head. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Wait… that’s it?”
Sam shot me a reproachful look. “Well gee Chase, I’d have thought you could show a little more enthusiasm…”
I turned to Sully to get confirmation. “Seriously, that’s all you wanted to say?”
Even he seemed put out by my response. “Well, it’s a pretty big deal to us.”
“I thought you two were going to take off on us or something.”
Sully’s mouth fell open. “Why on Earth would you think…”
I gestured at the table. “Well, you made all our favorite food. Who does that unless it’s an apology or bribe?”
He trailed off suddenly, understanding shining in his eyes.
“Chase, I told you. We’re family. Nothing will ever change that.”
I felt the tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Despite all the time we had been together, a part of me still believed that it was fleeting. That it would go away in a moment and my life would revert back to awful. I guess it would be awhile before I’d feel totally at ease.
Suddenly, the shock wore off and my eyes went wide.
“Wait. So, we’re having a wedding?”
Sam nodded smiling as Sully took her in his arms.
I looked down at Bandit, grabbing his head in my hands. “We’re having a wedding boy!”
He barked and danced around me, picking up on my delight. “There’s going to be a white dress and flowers and cake! Oh man, there’s going to be so much food! When is it?”
Sully stared across the table at us.
“We’re thinking the end of summer. I have a few things I need to sort out before we can get married. That should give me enough time to do them.”
Zeb spoke up now, hearing something in his voice. “What things?”
Sully looked at Sam, waiting until she nodded in encouragement before continuing.
“I need to go back to Connecticut. See Florence and Mark. Sort out paperwork…”
And make peace with the dead.
Although Sully didn’t say those words, his intention was clear. But me, well now that I knew it wasn’t anything to worry about, all I could feel was excitement.
“WE’RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP!”
Sam smiled at me. “Yes, this way, we’ll get it over with before school starts.”
And just like that, they managed to put a pin in the bubble of my excitement.
Thanks a lot, guys.
6
Chase
We set off against the rising sun.
I’m not sure what it was about early mornings but Sully seemed to think it fitting. He said it was a psychological thing: new morning, new beginnings. There was only the faintest hint of sadness when he’d said it, but I knew better than to make a thing of it.