“I’m just—” I looked around, confused.
“Gotcha,” Tina said again and laughed at the expression on my face. “I just asked them when they’d be around because we were thinking about stopping out next week.”
“Oh, I see.”
“See, he learns fast,” Annette said from across the table.
“I’m never going to win, am I?” I asked everyone.
Opus’s mouth opened in a doggy smile, his tongue hanging out the side as everyone said at once, “No.”
5
Rick
We spent the rest of the week planning. I did my routine, as normal, in the early mornings and then would take a jog down the long driveway to the road and back with Tina and Opus. It wasn’t quite like the laps at the mini-storage, or an hour on the treadmill, but it was exercise for me, and I didn’t have it in me to do as many laps as Tina did. She was like the energizer bunny on steroids, after working out on an elliptical for an hour or two.
Utah. I’d never been out west before. It seemed like a crazy fun trip, and a great way to put off talking to her parents, with the ultimate goal of gaining their approval. But Tina threw me for a loop announcing the trip to Utah for PrepperCon. Sure, we would be killing time, it would be one more week of paying for Char to watch over things but honestly, she was affordable. She was retired, had a pension and lived two houses down from the mini-storage; a fact I hadn’t known before.
It would be almost a 2,000-mile side trip but the more we talked about it, the more I loved the idea. It would be the three of us on the road, Michigan to Utah, Utah to Arizona and then hit the sights on the way back. Did I mention I was more excited for Utah because it delayed the fact I had to talk to her parents? The thought terrified me, but I wanted to do like the comedian said and ‘git r done’.
“So, I know you’ve made and scratched out a dozen lists. What are we planning?” Tina asked me, flopping down in a camp chair near me by the fire pit.
“Mostly, what I want to bring with us on the trip beyond clothes and food. I got one of those Yeti plug-in coolers being shipped to the house, but—”
“You don’t want to bring War Wagon?”
“I did at first,” I said, loving the fact she knew the name of my motorhome and didn’t hesitate to use it in a sentence. “But when you look at the gas mileage, it will use about three times as much fuel to get there, and it’s an older model. I’m not sure I want to take her across the mountains without a lot of checkups, and we’re leaving soon.”
Tina grinned at that. “So, we’ll take your creeper van or my truck?”
I gently flicked the tip of her nose, which made Opus sit up and stare at me. “I figured my van. If the weather sucks or we don’t want to stop, we can always sleep in that. I’m just mentally preparing for everything. I want to bring the WeBoost, and I’m looking at emergency food as well as a two-week supply for when we’re gone.”
“What, are we going to go all Rambo during the road trip?” she asked, her eyebrow arching up with a smile.
“Naw, but you know my newer hobby,” I said, referring to my last year of prepping. “I’d like to be ready for anything. It sorta came in handy last year.”
“So, you go ahead and do that, and I’ll get the motorhome packed up. Are we bringing it back to the mini-storage or leaving it up here?”
“Do you mind driving my van back?” I asked her, knowing she only slightly disliked driving my van, which was longer and harder to drive than her newer truck.
“No, I think I can manage it. Though, if I am going to drive it, I want you to have Opus ride with you so he doesn’t try to crawl into my lap.”
“We can do that,” I said, adding a couple more items to my list.
Tina looked over my shoulder, and I could feel her hair tickling my neck. Opus chuffed from his spot across from me.
“You know, I made a three-day pack for my truck,” she said, pointing to my list.
“You did?” I asked her, surprised.
“Yes, you know, I read up on things, and it just makes sense. Did you know about the older couple who went off the road two winters ago and were stuck in the ice and snow for three days?”
“I’m guessing since the way you worded that, they survived?” I asked.
“They did. They had an emergency candle, some bottles of water and some snacks. They lit the emergency candle during the night and kept it off during the day. With the way the car came to rest, they couldn’t get out, and part of the car was buried under the snow, so they were stuck. Somebody eventually saw the car almost on its side and called the sheriff where they were surprised to find them both in pretty good shape, all things considered.”
“That was a news article you shared on Facebook, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. It’s what really got me thinking. So, if you want to plan for a couple of weeks, I don’t mind. If you want to plan for more… two is one, and one is none.”
I had to grin, and when she left to start the cleanup process, I was amazed that I had found somebody who fit in with my beliefs and lifestyle so easily. Opus thumped his tail a couple of times. He was sitting on the floor across from me.
“You want to go on a long road trip?” I asked him.
He stood up and barked.
The motorhome drove easily on the trip back to the mini-storage. Tina had gone on ahead of me a bit the last half hour of the trip and was already talking with Char when I pulled in. She unlocked the gate and waited as I parked it in a spot and turned off the big 454.
As soon as I opened the side door, Opus took off like a shot, barking happily. I hopped out, pulled the step out to make the small amount of unpacking easier, then went and plugged up into power.
The gate had been closed and I saw Char throw something. Opus leaped, catching whatever it was in the air, and landed. The fuzzy kid then sat on his back legs, but I could see his whole body wiggling in a restrained fashion as his tail wagged furiously. She held something out over his head, and although I was now walking toward them, I couldn’t make out her words. They just came out as a murmur.
"What a little traitor," I muttered to myself as I realized she was giving the fuzzy mutt some sort of treat.
"Hey, Char's got some news," Tina told me.
I hurried the rest of the way over, causing Opus to look up at me sharply, his ears turning. I knew what he was thinking, I'd gone from an easy walk to a near jog, and he was looking around to make sure there were no problems that he hadn't identified.
As much grief and teasing as I liked to give the dog, I knew he had the same sardonic sense of humor as I did. And that was not me projecting feelings, you could actually see the moods. He had his own form of smiling, laughter, showing concern, disbelief, and agreements. He took the last treat from Char almost robotically, and sat up straight, waiting for me to get close.
"Hey, Char, what's going on?" I asked her.
"Well, we didn't have any more late-night visitors. Not any that were caught on camera anyway. That Detective Stephenson stopped by twice during this week, just to check on things. I guess he's taking the video clip to the station to see if anyone recognizes the prowler."
"They still don't know who it was?" Tina asked, a slight frown on her face.
"No, and I sent you the pictures. Was it anyone you recognize?"
Tina looked at me, and I shook my head no.
"No, nobody I know. It's really hard to make out their features though. Could be anybody."
"How do you know it's not that guy that tried to rob you last year?" Char asked.
"The guy last year was about twice as big. Broader in the shoulders and chest, and lots of tattoos. What little skin we can see on this prowler here,” I said, pulling my phone out and flipping to the picture that had been texted to me, "doesn't really look like there's any ink on this guy."
"If it's even a guy," Tina said, walking up next to me and bumping me with her hip.
“What do you mean, Hun?” Char asked.
&n
bsp; I looked at her, kind of surprised. Char was probably close to the same age my parents would have been. She was in her late fifties, early sixties. Young for retirement, but loving life. She was half a head taller than Tina, so she was nearly eye level with me. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ears, as for once the breeze was blowing.
“Well, the figure was slim. I know we saw a face, but for all that I know, it could also be a lady.”
I hadn’t thought of that, and Char hadn’t either. “Looks too tall,” Tina said after a moment.
“That’s what the good Detective was saying,” Char said with a wry grin.
“Oh?” I asked her.
“Last time he came out, when I offered to take him to dinner.”
“Char!” Tina said abruptly. “What… I mean…”
“He’s not that much younger than me,” Char said, blushing.
“He’s—”
“He said yes,” Char interrupted.
I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing in both humor and relief. I had thought he’d been sniffing about when he first came in. Something about him looking at Tina had made me feel all… stabby. Maybe I should do a quick re-write and not kill off the character I’d written him in as, or at least change the name and occupation. But Char looked like the cat that ate the canary, and I would never begrudge somebody falling in love... or whatever else it was.
I grinned as both women began talking in a rapid-fire style I recognized, and figured that it might take a couple minutes. Or an hour.
“Hey Opus, you want to go inside with me?”
He chuffed and walked toward the back door. Like a well-trained human, one owned by a furry buddy, I followed. Once we were inside, I peeked to make sure the office was empty, but Opus was already rounding the desk, heading back toward the living area. I walked back to the door past the office restroom; the door that separated the house from the business. Opus let out a whine and looked at me as I reached for it.
He growled.
Startled, I stopped and took an involuntary step backward, trying to figure out what he was telling me. He sniffed the crack under the door, still making a low growling murmur, though not the one I usually heard when he felt there was a physical threat. This was a vocalization I hadn’t heard before, more of… an anxiety sound?
I wasn’t sure. I saw the fur along his spine had raised some but was already starting to lay flat again.
“You smell something, buddy?” I asked, seeing him looking at the handle like it was hot, then going back to sniffing around the bottom.
Opus glanced at me and went back to work with his sniffer.
Outside, I could hear Tina laugh. For a second, the stab of anxiety I suddenly felt was gone as I realized how much in love I was with this woman, but then Opus whined, bringing me back to the present.
“So, maybe Char had to run inside. Is that who you smell on the door?”
I received a stare in response, so I reached for the handle and twisted it. The door opened and…
Nobody jumped out at me.
The door separating the business and the living area opened into Tina’s kitchen. The wall of pantries along the left wall was almost absolute and held her favorite ingredients and dry goods. Along the right side was her fridge, followed by a long stretch of countertop, the stove, then it turned a ninety-degree angle for the sink and a small snack bar.
I saw an empty water glass on the edge of the sink, upside down. I knew we’d loaded the dishwasher and run it before we’d headed up north and I realized that Char must have come in here and needed a drink.
I sighed in relief, but I was still curious. I mean, in my old life of like… a very short period ago, my room was my sanctum. Shared space was shared space, but now everything was shared space.
Opus ran around sniffing everywhere, but that was pretty much par for the course. I watched as he ran from corner to corner and then bounded off toward the living room that was immediately behind the kitchen. He did a small circle and then jumped up on the couch. He looked out the window for a moment and then hopped down and went running to Tina’s bedroom. I followed him, not in a rush any more.
As my anxiety and, I will admit, a moment of fear abated, I was able to let out a deep breath and let Opus do his job. He found me just as I was nearing the bedroom door, and bounded into the office.
My office.
That sounded weird, I’d have to get used to calling everything ours, hers and ours. I opened the door to the bedroom and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place or sorts, so I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Opus ran in and jumped up on the bed and flopped. When I flop on a bed, I usually just drop straight down. When Opus flops, it looks like the dog did a leap and came down on his side, right in the middle of the pillows.
“You get hair all over your mom’s sheets, she’s gonna skin you alive,” I told him, and he chuffed back at me.
I headed into the office next and checked everything out. Nothing looked out of place either, but I saw that my Mac was on and the screen saver was off. Had Opus bumped the desk and triggered the mouse or keyboard? I didn’t have it locked, so I sat down and looked at what was on the screen.
My chrome browser was open to YouTube.
My arms broke out into gooseflesh. Every breath you take, by The Police, was paused.
I exited the browser, seeing that my remote login utility TeamViewer had been recently closed, too.
Opus came in and laid his head in my lap as I furiously typed. I double-checked all my data was there and that it was backed up on my Dropbox cloud before I did a virus scan. After that, I started the process of changing all my passwords on everything.
Since everything I do is digital, including my banking and shopping, I fixed that first. I was still going when I felt Tina wrap her arms around my shoulders, kissing me on the side of the head.
“You get lost in here?” she asked.
“Somebody logged onto my computer,” I told her without looking up, making sure I had the last of the passwords changed from my checklist of logons.
“You mean, somebody other than you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s creepy,” Tina said. “Hackers?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if there’s any way to access things unless…”
“What?” She asked.
“Somebody was inside here?” I asked her, “Still, I changed all the passwords.”
“You think somebody was in here?”
“I’m pretty sure Char was at least in the kitchen. I’m not saying—”
“—Char wouldn’t get onto your computer, I’ve known her since I was a kid!” Her voice sounded a bit angry and a lot hurt.
“I’m not saying it was her. What if it was…”
“Oh God, you’re going to freak me right the flip out. Don’t,” she warned and stomped out of the room, barely audible.
Opus left with her, and I realized that there was a lot I needed to catch her up on. Opus’s behavior, the glass near the sink, the creepy video left up on the screen of my computer, and evidence somebody had logged in.
She seemed upset I would even think it was Char, which I didn’t… but I wanted her to cool off. Opus could tell she was upset, so he was going to stick close to her. He knew right now she needed him as she fought with the thoughts of somebody breaking in here.
I should have thought of that.
Her ex had terrified her, and before he was jailed, he had stalked her. Tina had never felt completely safe after that, and Opus had been purchased as a trained young dog who had finished his training and classes with Tina. I had really stepped into it now, potentially opening the floodgates to Tina’s fears again.
I turned back to my computer, closing it out and decided to re-pack the van. We were going to head out early, and maybe I could talk to Tina in a little bit, smooth things over. I just didn’t want to worry her that maybe the guy who was trying to break in, had come in here. I would have to think
about how to broach that subject, but luckily, packing tonight for the trip out west would give me ample time, though half of my checklist was already in the van, most of the rest in the motorhome. I could get 90% of the packing done quickly.
I felt under the desk and put my fingers on the keypad and unlocked the gun case. By feel, I could tell my Beretta and two extra magazines were right where I’d left them. I didn’t always carry it, though I was going to make that a habit now that I had my CPL.
Opus barked in the other room.
I locked the case to head over and see what they were up to and started to pack.
6
Tina
Tina really wasn’t mad, but it had unnerved her to have Rick surprised and showing a little bit of fear. She worried that her reaction might have given him the wrong idea, but she knew, like any small disagreement, if she waited, he would come to her when he was ready. She knew she should reach out to him first, but she’d never really talked about the strong, brave face she wore.
To her, it felt like a mask. She worried that she overcompensated to beat her fear into manageable chunks. She’d told him about her ex, Lance, and he hadn’t run screaming away. That was one of the darkest secrets. Yet, during the trial, she had avoided the media exposure. She was brought in as a witness, but the media had painted her as just another victim. What Lance had done still haunted her dreams, and she would have been the next in a long string of victims - if she hadn’t escaped and had him arrested.
Still, she didn’t want to confront Rick yet to apologize that she felt ashamed sometimes. Ashamed that she still felt vulnerable. He was her rock and had helped give her back the confidence that she’d lost.
She’d copied his list and when he’d gone outside to move items from the motorhome to his big van, and she started on the things inside that she could do to help.
“Opus, you want to help me pack some food?” Tina asked.
The big goof chuffed at her and she grinned, loving that the only other male creature that wasn’t her father or her fiancé made her feel so safe.
Opus Odyssey: A Survival and Preparedness Story (One Man's Opus Book 2) Page 4