by Robert Boren
They left the clubhouse with Lucy and headed back to their rig. Charlie and Hilda saw them, and walked over.
“You guys calling it a night?” asked Charlie.
“Yeah, we’re tired,” Jane said.
“And we’ve got to get up early in the morning to get that security system installed,” Frank added.
“True,” Charlie said. “I’d probably better do the same.”
“Goodnight,” Hilda said.
“Goodnight,” Jane replied. The two couples went their separate ways.
It was a dark moonless night, but the sky was clear and full of stars. There was a peacefulness in the way the light breeze flowed through the trees.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Frank said. He put his arm around Jane’s shoulder as they walked.
“Lucy sure knows which coach is home,” Jane said. She giggled as they watched her straining against the leash to get there. Frank unlocked the door and opened it, and Lucy bounded up the stairs. Frank and Jane followed her in. Mr. Wonderful was still sitting on the dash, looking out the windshield.
“Sorry, old boy, but I’ve got to bring down those blinds now,” Frank said. He got into the driver’s seat and pushed a button. The front shade came down slowly, and stopped when it rested on the dashboard. Then Frank pulled down the shade on the driver’s side window. He got up and did the same thing on the passenger side window. Mr. Wonderful gave him an annoyed look, and then jumped off the dash and sauntered into the back of the coach, looking for another open window.
Jane already had the laptop fired up, and was waiting for it to connect to the Wi-Fi.
“Want a beer?” asked Frank, as he opened the fridge.
“No thanks,” she said, staring at the screen. Frank pulled out an IPA and opened it. He sat down next to her, on the same side of the dinette, and stared at the screen as she started searching.
“Nothing more about the Joint Session that I can see,” Jane said, “but look at this article.”
Frank looked at the screen. The headline for the article read: “California’s Martial Law – is it coming to a state near you?”
As they started reading, both of their eyes grew wider.
“Robbie wanted to talk about this, but he was afraid to over his phone,” Frank said.
Chapter 02 – Cameras and Cables
Frank and Jane were at the Dinette, starting at the screen.
“Do you believe that?” Jane asked. “Sounds kind of nutcase-like to me.”
“Maybe it’s what Robbie was getting ready to tell us,” Frank said. “Let’s not worry about this until we can talk to him.”
“Agreed. We have enough to worry about. Let’s go to bed, Frank. I’m tired.”
Frank nodded. Jane logged off of the laptop and shut it down as Frank slid off of the Dinette bench and went into the bedroom. Jane followed him.
The next morning was bright and warm. Frank woke up, and saw that Jane was already up. He could smell coffee. He got dressed and walked out.
“Lucy need to go out?”
“No, honey, I took her out early,” Jane said. She was sitting at the dinette with a cup of coffee in front of her.
“Wow, I didn’t even hear you open the door,” Frank said. “I was out cold.”
“I woke up at 6:15 and couldn’t get back to sleep.”
“Nervous?”
“Yes,” Jane said. “We’re getting back on the road again. It’s a little scary. I was feeling at home here, between battles at least.”
Frank chuckled.
“This is the world we’re living in. A few gun battles are just part of life.”
Jane looked at him and shook her head.
“I know, huh?”
“Well, I’d better wolf down some breakfast. It’s going to be a long day,” Frank said. He got out the cereal and milk and a bowl. “Want some?”
“Sure, leave it out,” Jane said.
“I’m going to need the laptop today,” Frank said. “I’ve got some software to write.”
“Understand,” Jane said. “I’ll use the iPad if I need to get on line.”
“What are you planning on doing today?”
“I thought I’d start organizing stuff we need to take with us to the new coach. This is going to be difficult.”
“I know,” Frank said. “Hopefully we can hit a Walmart or something right after we take delivery. We aren’t going to be able to carry very much.”
“Well, we know that the weapons and electronics are going to have to go. That’s going to take a lot of the room right there.”
“I know. You’re good at this stuff. Use your best judgment,” Frank said as he finished the last couple bites of his cereal. He got up from the table with his bowl, and rinsed it out in the sink.
“You are going to take a cup of coffee, I hope?” Jane asked.
“Yes, but I’m going to use one of those paper cups,” Frank said.
“Good idea. Want to take Lucy?”
“That actually might be a good idea,” Frank said. “I’m going to take my handgun too, because we’re going to be in and out of the park all morning.”
Frank got his cup of coffee brewing, and then went back into the bedroom and got his holster and gun. He put them on, and then came out.
“Alright, I’m taking off,” Frank said. “C’mon, girl.” He picked up the leash, and Lucy pranced over, tail wagging.”
“Ahhhhh, our daughter is going to the office with daddy,” Jane said, laughing. “Give me a kiss, partner.”
Frank walked over and kissed her, then looked at her face for a second.
“Take care, sweetie,” he said. “Once we get to the point that I can focus on software, I’ll probably be back in here.”
Jane nodded, and Frank went out the door with Lucy ahead of him.
Jerry was coming out of his coach as Frank walked by.
“Ready to get started?” Jerry asked.
“Yep,” Frank said. “Let’s go to the clubhouse.”
“Sounds good. Saw Earl and Jackson head over there about five minutes ago.”
They walked together, looking around the park.
“I’m going to miss this place,” Jerry said.
“Me too. Did you and Jasmine pick out a coach yet?”
“Yes, we’re going with a Discovery,” Jerry said. “Jasmine’s going over to the barn in a little while to put the order in. You know what time the memorial service and the wedding are going to be?”
“Late afternoon, I think,” Frank said. “How does Rosie feel this morning?”
Jerry laughed.
“Good question. She’s not up yet.”
“Glad I didn’t drink that much.”
“Me too. There’s Charlie,” Jerry said, pointing. Charlie saw them walking up and waved.
They got to the clubhouse. Earl and Jackson were watching the large coffee pot sputter, cups in hand.
“That smells good,” Jerry said.
Frank looked on the table. The box of cameras and the spools of cable were all laid out, along with two cordless drills and screws and a couple of utility belts.
“Wow, this is great,” Frank said. “Hilda?”
“Yep, Jer had a lot of this kind of stuff in the shed. She was up early this morning puttering around.”
“She’s probably excited,” Frank said. “After all, this is her wedding day.”
Charlie got an embarrassed smile on his face.
“The Reverend is going to be here at about 4:00,” Charlie said. “Think we can get all of these installed by then?”
“Easy,” Earl said. “Let’s hit it.”
The men gathered up the equipment, cameras, and cable. They went out the door. Charlie and Earl and Jackson went to the far side of the park. Frank and Jerry went to the near side. Jeb joined them on the way.
“Need a hand?” he asked.
“Sure,” Frank said.
They got to the first location. Jerry pointed to it, then took a camera and o
ne of the cordless drills. He had the utility belt on. He climbed up next to the location and fastened the camera, then adjusted it so that it pointed in the desired direction.
“Why don’t you man the cable?” Frank said, looking at Jeb. He handed him the reel. Jeb nodded.
The process was easier than Frank expected. The three men walked along, chatting as they put each camera in place.
“So, did you guys read that article on martial law in California?” Frank asked.
“No,” Jeb said. “What’s it say?”
“It might just be nutcase stuff…..you know how things are now,” Frank said.
“Well?” Jeb asked. “You going to tell us?”
“Some of the stuff in the article makes the situation in California look kinda permanent,” Frank said.
“Like what?” Jerry asked.
“The State legislature has a couple of bills before it that’re causing a lot of concern. The first started out as a bill to tax mileage instead of gasoline. I remember hearing about that before the crap hit the fan. You know…..better mileage, less gallons bought, less tax revenue. They had to fix that. Anyway, it morphed into a limit on how many miles you can drive, not just a tax.”
“What?” Jeb asked. “Horse shit.”
“What’s the other bill?” Jerry asked.
“They want to force everybody to have a transponder in their car in order to enforce the new mileage law,” Frank said.
“You know that newer cars have already have that tracking hardware installed, right?” Jerry asked. “Nobody in the government wants to admit they’re using it for anything.”
“Is that really true?” Jeb asked. “Always seemed like another nutcase scare story to me.”
“Oh, it’s true, alright,” Frank said. “The government’s portraying it as being a public safety capability, not a way to spy on people.”
“So how are the people in California reacting?” Jerry asked.
“Well, that’s the scariest part,” Frank said. “California is still under martial law, and a lot of the residents are getting really tired of it, since things have calmed down so much there. Some people went to Sacramento to protest the marital law, the mileage limitations, and the transponder devices. The army shut down the protests and threw everybody in jail. They haven’t been released yet. It’s been several days now.”
“Shit,” Jeb said.
“Can we find those devices in our vehicles?” Jerry asked.
“I have some ideas about that…I think so,” Frank said.
“Good, then when we get our new rigs, perhaps we ought to find them and rip them out,” Jerry said. Frank and Jeb nodded in agreement.
“This reminds me of what Sean said,” Frank said. “Martial law put in place for enforcement of global warming measures.”
“Ah, geez,” Jerry said. “I hope this is just a lot of nutcase bullshit. I’d really like to trust our government.”
“You and me both,” Frank said.
The three men continued to work until about 1:00, and got all of the cameras installed on their side of the park. It was starting to get hot outside, and they were tired and hungry. Frank already given water to Lucy a couple of times, and her little tongue was hanging out of her mouth.
“Let’s drop this stuff off at the clubhouse and grab a bite to eat,” Frank said.
“Yeah,” Jerry said. “We got what we needed to get done.”
The three walked back, and saw Charlie and Earl and Jackson walking towards the clubhouse. They met at the veranda.
“Well, how’d you do?” Charlie asked.
“Done with the cameras and the cables,” Jerry said. “You?”
“Same, we’re done. The hardest part was getting the cable back to the parking lot and blind cameras, but we got them strung just fine. There’s more soldiers in the back now, by the way.”
“Really?” Frank asked. “I didn’t see them come in.”
“I think they came in off of the back road,” Jackson said. “They’ve got a full up encampment back there now. I don’t think anybody is going to surprise us coming from that direction again.”
“Good, too bad we won’t be around to take advantage of that,” Frank said.
The men carried their left over supplies and the tools back into the clubhouse.
“Where should we install the DVR units?” Jerry asked.
“I’m thinking we put them in the shed where we found this stuff, on that big work bench,” Frank said. “I’ll move a wireless hub in there too. We have way more hubs than we need out in the park. I’ll grab one from the outskirts that nobody is close to.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jerry said. “Why don’t you let me do that part of the setup, so you can get on the software?”
“That would be great,” Frank said. “I’ll go back to my rig to get started. Let me know if you need help with anything and I’ll come running. Otherwise I’ll see you guys at 4:00 in the clubhouse.”
The men nodded to Frank, and he left, with Lucy loping alongside of him. She was hot, tired, and hungry.
“Hey, honey,” Frank said as he entered the coach. The cool air felt good.
“Back here,” Jane said from the bedroom. She had some boxes and a couple of bags full of stuff sitting on the bed. She was loading up the two backpacks.
“Better save room in one of those backpacks for the laptop and iPad,” Frank said.
“Of course,” she said. “Hungry?”
“I could eat,” Frank said.
“Good, I made some tuna salad.”
“Excellent. I’m going to get the laptop going.” He stopped by the fridge and got himself a big glass of ice water from the dispenser. Lucy drank some water out of her dish, and then crawled into her bed. Frank chuckled as he watched her settle in. “Lucy’s done.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet she is,” Jane said. She walked out of the bedroom and opened the freezer. She pulled out a frozen loaf of bread, and put it on the counter.
“Nice to be in the air conditioning,” Frank said. “It’s getting a tad hot out there.”
“How did you guys do?”
“Good….all the cameras are installed and the cable is run.”
“Already? I’m impressed.”
“Jerry is going to hook up the DVR and get a wireless hub set up next to it, in the shed back by the barn.”
“What time do the festivities start?” Jane asked.
“The Funeral is at 4:00 in the clubhouse.”
“And the wedding afterwards. I’d hate to have my wedding right after the funeral of a friend.”
“I know, it must feel pretty weird, but you’ve got to do the best you can,” Frank said. The laptop was up now, and he loaded his C++ programming environment. “It’s times like this when I miss my desktop machine. This is going to take a while to compile.”
“You’ll manage,” Jane said. She slid a plate over to him that had a tuna sandwich on it.
“Mmmmmm, thanks.” He picked up the sandwich and took a bite. “Hear anything more about this martial law business?”
“No, not really. I tried to call Robbie several times. His phone rings, but it goes to voice mail.”
“He might be going through some of the Army induction stuff today,” Frank said.
“Hope it’s nothing more serious than that. I’m worried about him.”
“None of the guys heard anything about this stuff going on in California, but then none of them are from California.”
Jane sat down on the other side of the dinette with her sandwich and started eating. Mr. Wonderful sauntered over.
“No tuna for you,” she told him sternly. He stared back at her blankly. Then he meowed, and walked away.
Frank spent the next several hours working on his software, as Jane continued to go through things in the coach.
“Frank, it’s almost 4:00,” she said, breaking him out of the programming trance he was in. “We’ve got about ten minutes to change and get over there.”
“Alright, thanks, honey,” Frank said. He saved his work and shut down the laptop. They both got dressed.
“Maybe we should feed the animals,” Jane said.
“Sounds good,” she said.
They walked Lucy, then fed the critters.
“We need to take at least a few cans of pet food,” Frank said. “In case we can’t get to a store quick enough.”
“I packed some already,” Jane said. “What’re we going to do about a toad?”
“That’s a good question,” Frank said. “We should ask the General about that.”
“I’m ready,” Jane said, walking out. She looked beautiful in her dress. Frank took her in.
“Wow,” he said. “Aren’t you a dish.” She blushed and shook her head.
“Let’s go,” she said. They left the rig and headed towards the clubhouse. People were streaming in ahead of them.
The room was filling up fast. The Sheriff was there, with a few people from town who knew Chester, Charlie, and Hilda. The Reverend was already up at the podium. There were flowers on either side.
“I’ll bet the Sheriff brought those flowers in from town,” Jane said. “They look nice.”
Jerry came in with Jasmine and Rosie, all dressed nicely. They sat down on the bench next to Frank and Jane. Jackson and Earl came in and slid next to them. Charlie and Hilda were dressed for their wedding, and were sitting up on the front row with Jeb, the Sheriff, and the town people.
The Reverend cleared his throat and put his hands up.
“Let’s take our seats, Ladies and Gentlemen.”
People sat down, and a hush came over the room. Major Hobbs, Lieutenant James, and General Walker snuck into the back of the room and sat down.
“Thank you all for coming,” the Reverend said. “Today we are here to honor our fallen friend Chester Simpson. I see old friends and new friends out in the crowd……”
The Reverend went on for about ten minutes. Then he said the final prayers, thanked the crowd, and sat down.
Charlie and Hilda and Jeb got up and left the room. People murmured amongst themselves for about five minutes or so. Then the Sheriff got up and went to the front. He pulled a boom box out of the credenza and plugged it in. He pushed play, and the wedding march started playing.
A hush came over the room. The Reverend came back up to the podium. The office door in the front of the room opened and Charlie walked out. He slowly came over next to the podium. He looked at the back door. Jeb entered, with Hilda on his arm. The crowd stood and turned towards them as they walked slowly up to the front. When they got to the front, Jeb kissed Hilda on the cheek, and sat down. She turned towards Charlie, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. The sheriff shut off the music, and the crowd sat down.