Grunting from the effort as he bent forward, Happy obliged him. "You’re a good old boy," he said fondly in a gruff voice, "and I’m going to miss you."
He knew the end could come at any time now. He didn’t suppose there would be a warning first or anything like that. No, they had told him it would be quick and merciful. Probably over with in a blink of an eye.
Well, at his age it was no surprise to be thinking of death anyway, he decided.
It was just strange to think of everyone else in the world checking out with him at the same time. What was it Wanda used to say about death? He remembered now.
She used to say that death was nothing more than the failure of living. Guess that’s about as accurate a description as I could come up with on my own, Happy thought.
He really had no concrete beliefs in the existence of either a heaven or a hell.
Happy had to admit to having never been much of a religious man. Not that he didn’t believe in God, he quickly assured himself. He’d just never been very big on all that folderol that seemed to go along with belonging to a church. No sir, Happy’s cathedral had always been the outdoors. For over eighty years every time he had gone into the woods; gotten his fishing line wet, or slipped his boat into the water, he’d gone to church in his mind. To a fellow like Happy, nature and spirituality were one and the same.
Even so, he felt a shiver of dread pass through him. Oh, not for himself. Hell, he guessed he was ready to go anytime. No, it was for all the young who hadn’t had a chance to live yet. To enjoy life. Now they never would.
"It’s a pity ... a Goddamn pity, that’s what it is," he confided to Spike in a voice beyond sad.
For a time Happy sat peacefully by Spike, giving him the belly rubs that he loved and looking out at Jericho Bay. Jesus, it was sure pretty out there, he sighed. I’ve been a lucky man to have woken up to that view almost every morning of my life. Absentmindedly he lit up his pipe, puffing away to get it going.
Then he was struck by, for him, what was an odd thought. Has my life been meaningful?
The question so startled him that he paused in mid-puff. But the answer never did come to him even though he waited awhile, so instead he turned to the dog and said, "How about another beer, boy?"
Chapter 41
Kevin Dodge was loosing his patience. Something he didn’t have a great deal of to begin with.
"Heh!" he shouted to his wife, "Think we could do this in my lifetime?"
The boys all giggled. Dad was funny when he lost his temper. They never knew what would come out of his mouth next.
"Keep your shirt on, Kev," yelled Martha as she hurried down the dock to the Sea Bitch, "I’m coming as fast as I can." Her arms were overflowing with picnic things.
"Yeah, and my clothes are going out of style." Kevin muttered almost under his breath, which elicited yet another round of giggles from his sons. Swinging around abruptly, he bellowed, "What’s the matter with you guys? Get up there and help your mother, for Christ’s sake."
All four youngsters scrambled over the side and ran to meet their over burdened mother who was still struggling her way up the dock.
"The day’s half over now," Kevin grumbled as he gave his hand to his wife and helped her into the boat.
"Jesus, Kev, it’s only ten o’clock in the morning." Martha replied almost absentmindedly. She was so used to his bluster that his ways barely even affected her by now. Acting spontaneously, Martha reached up and grabbed herself a beard full, pulling her husband’s face down close to hers. "You are one frumpy son of a bitch, but I love you anyway," she drawled before planting a big wet one square on his mouth.
This, of course, sent the boys into another spasm of laughter as they, too, climbed on board. "All right," their father growled as he tried unsuccessfully to hide his grin, "make yourselves useful. Let’s get ready to cast off."
There was a mild flurry of activity on the compact deck of the Sea Bitch, as everyone turned their attention to the chore that had been set for them.
Martha stowed the picnic hamper and extra blankets in the wheelhouse. One set of sons cast off the stern line while the other saw to releasing the bow line. Once they were free, Kevin throttled up and the Sea Bitch slowly pulled away from her mooring, complacently chugging out into the harbor. Waves and loud ‘Good Morning’s were exchanged with everyone they met along the way out to the open water.
These are people I’ve known my entire life, thought Martha as she leaned against the wheelhouse door watching their leisurely progress through the bay. Most of them were honest, hard working folk. The sea was a harsh mistress and Martha had many friends who had lost their fisherman husbands to her over the years. Fondly, she looked over to Kevin who was carefully tracking their passage through the midmorning traffic of working boats. He’s feeling guilty, she realized with a grin. Guilty for taking a day off for pleasure. She moved closer to her husband and linked her arm through his, leaning her head onto his broad shoulder for a moment.
In the back of the boat the boys chortled and elbowed each other at this unaccustomed open display of affection between their parents. This was a real treat. It was pretty rare that their dad could take time off from fishing to spend the whole day with them. It was going to be a great day.
"I’m glad you talked me into this," Kevin said happily, giving his wife the customary pat on her behind.
They had passed the outer bouy now and Kevin opened her up, letting the Sea Bitch stretch her legs as they moved out into the open Atlantic. There was a slight chop on the water today, but nothing to worry about. Martha looked up at a deep blue sky that held not even so much as a hint of clouds. She returned her attention to the sea. Farther out there was still a touch of sea smoke left over from the early morning.
"Heh, boys," she yelled back to her sons, "know what Nana used to tell me the fog was?" She continued without waiting for a reply, "She used to say the fog was really smoke from Gluskabe’s pipe." I miss you, Nana, she said silently to herself. I’m sure looking forward to seeing you again.
With that thought in mind, Martha turned and gazed at the rapidly retreating Island as if she’d never see it again. She watched it until first it became only a mere speck on the horizon and then nothing at all.
Chapter 42
The day was lengthening.
"Isn’t it about time for you to be hitting the road?" Sam inquired cooly.
"Hitting the road?" Per looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Samantha?"
"You know ...... getting along; going away; making tracks, leaving town. Christ, I can’t think of anything else. Have you packed for your trip yet?"
"What trip would that be?" asked Per, although he was slowly getting her drift.
"Just what the hell do you pack for an intergalactic journey anyway?" Sam was nervously pacing about the room. "I mean, do you need electrical transformers for your hairdryer or what?"
From his position by the fireplace, Per reached out for her as the next lap took her by him. Ignoring her meager protests, he pulled her down onto the big wing chair with him and wrapped his arms tenderly about her.
"I like the way you smell," he said as he burrowed his face deeply in the nape of her neck.
Automatically, without having to think about it, Sam turned her face and offered him her mouth. "Hmmm, and I like the way you taste." she grinned, licking her lips.
But the sweet moment soon passed and once again Sam’s demeanor quickly became somber. "Can all this truly be happening?" she asked in a small voice.
They sat in complete silence for a bit, both watching the crackling flames jump about in the fireplace. It was Per who broke the silence first.
"I don’t know if this will be any type of consolation, Samantha, but I can tell you something for certain. This planet only had a few more decades at the outside anyway." he said gravely.
Stunned by this small piece of news, Sam frantically twisted herself around on his lap. "What on earth .... if you’ll excuse the expression ...
.. are you talking about, Per?"
"Surely you’ve noticed the recently increased changes in global temperature?" he asked, "It’s very simple, really. As the temperatures continue to rise, snow and glaciers are caused to melt which in turn causes more rain and unstable weather patterns around the earth."
"Yeah, but this isn’t really a news flash, Per. Atmospheric scientists have been warning us of this for at least a decade now."
"Yes, that’s true." said Per, "However, despite all of the warnings from some of your most eminent professionals in the field, no one really ever took it all seriously. Or at least not seriously enough. Even now, the intensity and frequency of significant global changes are occurring on a daily basis. With these changes, as you well know, come floods; earthquakes; tornadoes; droughts, and severely contaminated water sources. In short, it is a climatic catastrophe."
"So you’re saying life would have changed a great deal." said Sam slowly, thinking about what he had said.
"No," replied Per firmly, "what I’m saying to you is that life would eventually have reached such a point of misery that it wouldn’t have been worth living for the few people who were left. Between both the natural and manmade disasters, humanity doesn’t stand a chance. The weather patterns are not the only changes taking place around the globe. Infectious disease patterns are also rapidly changing due to the warmer climes. These warmer patterns create a furtile breeding ground for widespread epidemic outbreaks. And Samantha, these are new types of diseases for which man has no recourse."
Per held her close to him as he talked. "With the new killer diseases and lack of food and water would come great inequity around the planet. As time went on and what few resources that remained became all important, major wars would break out on every continent."
He was quiet for a moment before finally continuing in a strained voice, "Given enough time, Samantha, human kind would have totally eradicated themselves without help from anyone else. But it would have taken you many more years of appalling hardship and horrible suffering to the global population."
"So your way is a lot quicker, more humane you might even say." Sam commented. "Sort of like a mercy killing of global proportions."
Per nodded his head in agreement. Sam stood up and taking a crumpled cigarette from her shirt pocket, lite it, tossing the match into the glowing fireplace. "Guess I’m not destined to quit smoking on my own," she said wryly, watching the smoke curl upwards to the ceiling.
Sam smoked in silence, enjoying the acid taste of it. For perhaps the very first time in fifteen years of smoking she didn’t feel guilty because she liked it.
She flicked the remains of the cigarette into the fire and then slowly turned to face Per.
"You still haven’t given me an answer. When are you leaving?"
Per stood and walked to her side where he looped his arm familiarly about her waist. The room was growing dusky with the advancing encroachment of evening.
The fire kept the room cheerful against the inky blackness that was pressing in from the outside. The warmth of it felt good. In a way, Sam thought, the fire made you feel almost safe.
When Per did speak to answer her question, she somehow was not surprised by what he said. "I will be remaining here with you, Samantha. That is a choice that I made some time ago."
Wearily, yet at the same time strangely content as well, Sam rested her head on Per’s shoulder. There was no need to say more. The two stood for a long time, arms intertwined about each other tightly, quietly enjoying the dancing of the flames. The fire caused their standing shadows to merge and be thrown far back into the depths of the darkened room as if it was made by not two but one person.
Inevitably, the flames began to grow smaller and the previous warmth from the fire began to turn noticeably cooler. Per kept his arm securely about Sam’s waist and said decidedly, "We will let the fire die out now."
Epilogue One
Gluskabe sent Turtle to the big water. Turtle swam up to the water’s surface and started to pull the Island back into the sea. When an old woman asked him ‘Why?’, he replied sadly, "There is no longer any place to put Earth."
Epilogue Two
The ensuing silence was absolute. Where once there had been life and all the good and bad that went along with that, there was now nothing ....... only undiminished emptiness.
However slowly, over time, even the emptiness would fill in. There is little point of having a vacuum in a cosmos when it can be so beautifully saturated with stars, moons and comets. Within a short period, it will have been forgotten that the planet Earth had ever even existed. It will be as if it had never occurred.
Yet, many thousands of miles away, barreling through space at an undetermined velocity, could be found fragments of that very same planet. Bits and pieces of Earth still retaining in their fragile shapes microscopic matter of mankind’s essential building blocks. What would their final destination be? Publishers Note: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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