by E A Lake
The bedroom door creaked open and Hope’s cries intensified. When the door closed, I heard Daisy’s sweet voice singing a lullaby. I listened closely to see if the two women said anything to one another.
Not only was Violet playing me like a cheap guitar, she was warming up on Daisy as well.
Day 1,097
Two days later, Wilson arrived during a drizzle. In one hand, he carried a large goody bag of supplies. In the other was a small satchel, most likely containing clothes. I spied him coming through the front window with Daisy at my side. Once she realized he was coming to stay, she left in tears, running into the bedroom with Violet.
My breath caught a little and I felt a slight chill run through my veins. I was really going to do this, I thought. For a fleeting moment, before Wilson reached our front door, I doubted myself.
I studied myself in the mirror. “You could die,” I whispered to the ghost of my former self. A man no longer recognizable in my eyes, a man shot and left for dead twice, a man who had taken the lives of others.
I listened to the sounds coming from the bedroom. Violet and Libby were comforting Daisy, begging her to dry her tears. Daisy’s sniffles saying it was all right. Hope cooing, Libby was probably entertaining her.
“If you don’t do this, they’re all dead within a month,” I warned my mirrored self.
Wilson was a dozen steps from the front door. I took a deep breath and pulled up my loose pants.
It was show time.
Day 1,097 — continued
As if it were a special occasion, we sipped tea like civilized people. But it wasn’t a special occasion, not for me. I’d said I’d make coffee. Wilson claimed that sounded fine.
The bedroom door flung open and Daisy appeared with red swollen eyes, a broad smile and a plan.
So, we had tea.
Daisy brought out tiny floral cups and saucers I’d scavenged somewhere for her, though I couldn’t recall any longer where or even when I had found them. After the water boiled long enough for her liking, she and Violet seeped the teabags in a matching floral pot. I hated it when they plotted together. Nothing good ever came of it.
Blowing on his tea, Wilson shot me a crooked smile. I couldn’t blame him. The hot beverage tasted like dirt, and the cups looked out of place in our large calloused hands. I decided to bite my tongue for a bit just to humor Daisy. But I didn’t plan on this being a long farewell party.
“So, Mr. Wilson,” Daisy started, trying to smile and hold back sniffles and tears. “Tell me and Vi all about how Lettie is doing. We’re just bursting for news.”
I noticed his eyes flash my way before he gave the gals a decent smile. Well decent enough for a man whose idea of a smile looked like he was passing bad gas.
“She’s good,” he answered. “Doing well.”
Daisy nodded. “And the garden? Has she been able to help?”
Wilson eased a bit. “Oh yeah, everything looks a lot better already. That old gal knows all the tricks.”
Violet cleared her throat. “And how are your sons?” she asked.
I’m sure my mouth dropped obscenely open with her question. Like she gave a damn about how Jimmy or Johnny were doing.
“Something wrong, Bob?” Violet scolded. Damn it, busted.
I shook my head in a small way. “No.” I figured the pending fight could wait a few minutes. Daisy’s smile helped quell my growing anger, though Violet’s pissy expression made my anger want to boil over. Daisy won…for now.
“Boys are fine,” Wilson answered. “Work hard and eat like mules.” He let out a snort/laugh. “So that’s good, I guess.”
“And Nate?” Violet continued. “How’s my brother?”
“Ha!” I couldn’t help it. The questions were getting more and more ridiculous.
Violet’s eyes bored into mine. “If there’s a problem, Bob, perhaps we can discuss it later.”
I thought about shrugging, but decided it was my turn to speak.
“Like you give a rat’s ass about Nate,” I raged. “You’ve never asked about him once in all this time. Spare me the show.”
Daisy placed her hand gently on my arm. “Please try and be gentle with Vi’s feelings,” she said in a soft voice. “She’s worried about Nate.”
I turned to face her and shook my head. “She’s stalling. You’re both stalling. I know what you’re doing. Just so we’re square on that.”
Giving me another of her patented smiles, Daisy acted as if she had no idea what I was talking about. But I knew better.
“We’re going to be civilized,” Violet shrieked from across the table. “Before you go off and get slaughtered, we’re going to behave like decent people one last time.” She leapt from her chair. “You owe us that much you son of a bitch!”
I held back a grin. She and her co-conspirator were busted and they both knew it.
“Vi,” Daisy replied quietly, “we talked about this. We aren’t going to get upset or show improper emotion. Please, sit down and let’s continue our conversation with Mr. Wilson and Bob.”
Glaring at me like never before — and that said a lot — Violet straightened her thin blue sleeveless shirt and retook her spot.
“Now, where were we?” Daisy asked as if nothing had happened. “I believe Vi was asking about her brother. Is he well, Mr. Wilson?”
Tightlipped and bug-eyed, Wilson studied our group perplexedly. And who could blame him? We were one happy dysfunctional family unit.
“Yep,” he answered without emotion, “Nate’s doing just fine. Fits in well with my boys. He’s a good worker.”
Daisy and Violet smiled. I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. This was going to take a while.
I gave it another half hour before pushing the small talk aside. One more mention of weather, crops or kids, and I would have screamed.
“They’re back in the area, aren’t they?” I asked, sliding my chair a little closer to Wilson’s.
His lips tightened as he watched Daisy and Violet leave the table to take care of their respective children.
“Yep,” he answered just above a whisper. “But I can’t tell you their exact location. Just the area I know they’re in.”
That was good enough for me. As long as I had a general idea and could track them down in a day or two, that was all that mattered. Yeah, it would have been better knowing the precise spot they holed up in, but I’d waited long enough.
“So, where they at?” I asked, noting Daisy listening in on our conversation.
“Get me a piece of paper and a pencil. I can draw you a map of the area. Can’t walk you right up to their front door, but I can get you close.”
I rose and rifled through a pile of clutter on an end table. I knew we had clean paper somewhere in this small place.
Peeking at Violet, I dared a question. “We got any pencils or pens left around here?” She was the one who drew most of the time with Libby and helped her practice her letters.
I saw a slight grin curl the corners of her lips.
Now what?
Day 1,097 — continued
Wilson gave me a strange look as I passed his choice of writing devices across the table. He probably thought we were all a bunch of loons. He might’ve been right.
I smiled at him. “You have your choice of colors: black, blue, green, purple or orange.”
“Crayons,” he said, as if they were diseased or something.
Violet leaned over his shoulder. “You should use magenta. It’s Libby’s favorite.”
He shook his head either at me or Violet, or perhaps both. “I’m not sure I even know what color that is…” If nothing else, he was playing along nicely.
Pencils and pens had disappeared from our home. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen one, though I knew for a fact Libby had been practicing her letters with a pencil not long ago. Or maybe it was a crayon? Last winter, we all sat around for days coloring Christmas trees with the young girl. Thus, I just assumed every
one used crayons nowadays.
Violet handed Wilson the magenta crayon. As she pulled away, he reached for her hand and held it, giving her a kind smile.
“That Hope sure is getting big,” he said. “How old is she now?”
“Almost six months,” Violet answered, seeming more at ease with him than on previous visits.
“I bet she’s gonna grow up to be a beautiful young lady someday, just like her mother.” I swear I saw Wilson’s tired eyes grow misty.
He gently let go of Violet’s hand and turned to face me head on.
“These places are all just south of Covington,” he began. “Probably seven miles north of here. Not the spots they were before, which were closer.”
Giving him my full attention, I nodded.
“And they’re a little more remote than the last place I knew they were at,” Wilson continued. He lined the paper up in front of himself.
“So here’s that river that crosses between Lettie’s old place and town.” He drew a horizontal line across the bottom of the paper. “Here’s the highway.” A vertical line shot up from the previous one. “And town is just off the top of the paper.”
I nodded several times. “I got it.” Well, sort of.
There were so many little rivers and creeks in this place it was hard to know which was which. Hopefully with a little more detail, I’d be zeroed in somewhere near my target.
Next, he drew some circles to the left of the road. That was west, at least I knew that much. However, the circles were far apart. Potential problem, I thought.
“These are the four known locations that are available to them,” Wilson said, tapping the crayon in the middle of the cluster. He must have seen my concern. “Problem?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “Four spots, miles from here, and they seem a little spread out to me.”
He sighed, crossing his arms. “They’re all at least three miles off the main road. The furthest one might be five.” His eyes met mine. “This fellow is careful. Not like he’s going to set up shop right on the highway for everyone to notice. It’s gonna take some craftiness to get to him.”
I let out a long sigh. For the first time since I’d been planning my revenge, I wondered if it wasn’t as Lettie called it — a fool’s errand.
With the details laid out in front of me, I contemplated my hunt. Wilson had taken a good long time describing as much as he knew. What each of the cabins were like, what he knew about the local terrain, recent movements of the gang and what others had noticed about their fire power.
Mysteriously absent were any comments on my likelihood of winning the battle.
“You’re going up against at least three people, Bob,” he said, working on a plate of venison and potatoes Daisy had prepared for us. Across the table, Violet and Libby picked at their plates. Great, now the two older ones had the little girl depressed.
I contemplated my path and actions while chewing on my dinner. “Twelve miles will take most of a day. At least, if I want to move unnoticed. That’s two days for a round trip.” That was more than I had planned for travel time alone. Hell, I thought the whole adventure would only take two days.
“And then you gotta find them,” Wilson added. “They may or may not be exactly where you expect them. I’d start with the closest place and work my way out. But that’s just me.”
“And we don’t know if they’ve picked up a fourth for sure?”
He shook his head, his lips pressed together in a thin line. “Jimmy heard from a man that there were four. Another friend told me he’s sure there’s only three. So you’d better plan on four.”
That was problematic. My goal was to catch at least two of them in the open somehow. The first would die, completely caught off guard by my attack. I could take the second as they sought cover. I hoped that the third would hole up and I could either wait them out or burn the place down around them.
A potential fourth person made the task more challenging. It allowed them to have a planned synchronized counterattack against me. And if they had enough time, or higher ground, or any other number of factors to their advantage, that could be the end of me.
“And one of them is a woman,” Wilson said, picking at his teeth. “I don’t know how you feel about killing a woman. That’d be hard for me.”
I felt myself stiffen. “They robbed us at gunpoint, they attacked Lettie’s place, they killed Dizzy. They hung two bodies out front to scare us off. I bet that same woman has been with them the whole time.”
He nodded.
“Then she has it coming,” I continued. “Just like Barster and anyone else left in his gang.” I glanced over at Daisy as tears welled in her eyes. “An eye for an eye.”
Day 1,100
I assembled my gear one day and went through the plan the next. That and rain were the only things delaying my leaving. By the morning of the third day, a light drizzle replaced the on again-off again thunderstorms. Drizzle and fog, the perfect setting to match my mood.
Daisy followed me around as I laid my gear out on the covered picnic table that Wilson and I had found several abandoned houses away. Every few minutes, she’d hug me or stop me and sneak a kiss. And every few minutes, I gave her a soft smile and went back to my preparation.
The weather and Daisy’s actions made this all feel wrong. But my gut told me everything was right, and the time was now.
Wilson approached from the cabin. “One thing you got going for you is that all four places are close to the same stream. They have to have fresh water nearby. Like I told you before, you follow that same stream and you’ll find all four potential hideouts.”
Yeah, along with a dozen other local cabins he’d also warned me about. But I had the descriptions of the places written down, in crayon no less.
“You find them,” he warned, keeping his voice low, “and then get yourself organized. Don’t go charging in not knowing what the scoop is.”
I nodded to myself mostly, packing the last of my provisions. I had four days of rationed food, two half-gallons of fresh water, a book of matches, an extra box of 45-caliber handgun ammo (along with a fully loaded clip already in the gun), a small tarp and a blanket. I knew I was cutting it close on food, but any extra would have weighed me down. As for the water, well that was something that was plentiful up here. As long as I didn’t get mixed up with any brackish water, I’d be fine.
Daisy came up to me, tears streaming down her face again. I would have said it was getting old, but my mortality warned me to keep that thought to myself.
“Please take this with you,” she said, handing me a folded piece of material. “It’s a scarf I haven’t worn in a while. Maybe wrap it around your neck at night so you’ll think of me.”
I stuffed the thin flowered material into my back pocket and leaned down to kiss her. “I’m coming back you know. Don’t give up on me.”
She played with the buttons of my shirt, nodding nervously and avoiding my gaze. “I know. I know.”
I gave her a hug and looked inside. “I need to get going before it gets too late. I want to be off the road and somewhere near the first place by dark. I’d better say goodbye to the others.”
She hugged me for a few extra heartbeats and finally let loose. I opened the door and glanced at the rest of my family. On the couch, Libby held Hope, rocking her back to sleep. Beside them stood Violet, refusing to turn and look at me.
“I gotta go,” I said quietly. Leaning over the couch, I kissed Libby on the cheek and softly kissed the top of Hope’s head, breathing in her baby scent.
“I’ll be back in five days or so, Libby,” I said to the frowning child. “You help take care of Hope while I’m gone.”
She nodded, sniffling back a tear. I turned to Violet, who was still facing away from me.
“You take care of Daisy while I’m gone,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let her get all in a tizzy if I’m not back right away. I promise I’ll be back.”
Most likely, the te
en was crying. But I couldn’t tell, because she refused to look at me.
I gave her a few minutes but nothing changed, so I turned and left. That was the way she wanted it.
Outside I gave Daisy one more hug and kiss. Wilson approached with his right hand extended.
“Good luck to you, son,” he said, looking none too happy himself. “Don’t worry about a thing here. I’ll still be around whenever you get back.” He wiped away a single tear. “Godspeed, Bob. I know it ain’t easy, but I believe you’re doing the right thing…just so you know how I feel.”
One last goodbye with Daisy and I made my way to the road. I refused to look back one last time. I was coming back, then I could stare at the cabin for the rest of my days.
I was five minutes down the road when I heard it. I paused, fearing trouble was approaching from behind in the dense fog. I heard the slap of footsteps running up behind me. When I turned, the person nearly tackling me was Violet.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she cried, hugging me tightly. “I didn’t mean anything I ever said. Not the bad stuff at least.” Her words came out rushed.
“I don’t want you to leave,” she begged. “But I know you have to go. And I don’t want you to think I don’t care.”
She kissed my cheek several quick times, pulling my face towards hers and kissing me again on the lips.
“I’m sorry that Daisy won’t say it, but I will. I love you. I love you so much. I don’t want you to get hurt. I want you to come back in one piece. And we’ll work it out when you do come back. I won’t be in the way of you and Daisy, I promise. Just tell me you love me or at least care about me. That’s all I want to hear and I’ll let you go.”
I stroked her dirty tear-stained chin. “In some weird sort of way Violet, I do love you. But it will never be the same as between Daisy and me. It just can’t be. I hope you understand.”