The Forging

by Jeffrey Hancock

  Char answered in a resounding, “No. I have no desire to have a chubby hubby.”

  “Mommy, Daddy, can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

  Char answered, “Okay, just this once.” Moiraine climbed under the covers between Char and me.

  After I turned out the light, I rolled over to go to sleep. “Goodnight ladies.” I heard a chorus of goodnights.

  Moiraine broke the silence with, “Daddy, please don’t make your sleeping sounds.”

  “I don’t snore, Mo.”

  Charlene answered with, “Nathan, you snore.”

  “I get no respect.” Immediately Aretha Franklin began singing Respect. “Turn it down Mr. K R A P I’m trying to sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  As I woke up with a start, I glanced at the clock. We had slept-in. A feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. It is like the sensation when I know I will be vomiting soon, but without the urgency. Throwing off the covers, I sat up in bed. My movements disturbed Mo and Charlene. It is just as well. My mind buzzed with plans in the making.

  Charlene lazily stretched and asked, “Is something wrong?”

  Quickly I jumped out of bed and started getting ready to take a shower and do my morning routine. “Moiraine, Honey, go ahead and start getting ready for school.”

  “Okay, Daddy,” Mo climbed out of bed and started for the bathroom.

  “Char, I have some errands I need to do today, important errands. Can you do a few as well? First, I need you to see Moiraine off to school without me today?” I tried to put an urgency in my voice without sounding too alarmed. Charlene nodded. “Excellent. I knew I could count on you.”

  “Nathan, what’s wrong?”

  “Please do as I ask without questions, no guesses, and no women’s intuition. Can you do this for me?”

  “Nathan, what is…”

  “Damn it, woman! If you never do another thing I ask again, do this for me.” I rarely yell at my wife, but I needed to hammer down any dissent.

  “O…k…ay.” Then as quick as if a light switch had been turned on, she said, “Whatever you need from me, I will do. It is the least I can do for the man who is my husband,” her tone is soft and compliant. I heard a touch of love in her voice too. She said I am her husband and meant it along with all that goes with the title. My heart panged, but I had no time to enjoy the sensation.

  “After Moiraine is off to school, I want you to pack for us. I want you to pack like we are going on a long road-trip vacation.”

  “Now, you’re talking. Oh, I have always loved the idea of us taking a long vacation, Nathan. It will be a magnificent road trip too.” Charlene jumped out of bed then grimaced and put a hand to her chest. “We can take our time and reconnect far away from all the craziness our lives have been lately.” She put on her robe, opened the closet, and started scanning her choices for the road. “Nathan, can you get our luggage out of the garage for me?”

  Grunting an okay, I retrieved the suitcases. I put them on the bed and opened them up.

  “Nathan, I am wondering do we have the money for a trip? Where are we going? I am still recovering maybe we should hold off?”

  Throughout our relationship and life together, not only are we husband and wife, we have always been partners, too. If there are problems to solve, we bring them to the table, the kitchen table in fact. We’ll sit across from each other with my left hand in her right. We take the problems, chew them up, and spit them out together. We did it so when we planned our wedding. It was the way of it when we decided to try for children against doctors’ advice. It is how we chose to give Moiraine a conventional home life with me in the role of breadwinner and Char being a stay-at-home mom. And to her credit, Charlene would let me believe we came to all those decisions together.

  With all the tenderness I could muster I said, “Charlene, I love you deeply and without reservation. I don’t say this lightly, and I hate getting all alpha-male on you,” in a deep guttural tone and intensity I commanded, “My wife will keep her word and do as I asked!”

  Charlene lowered her eyes and bent her head down slightly and said, “As you wish.” An almost imperceptible smile came to her lips. Movie quotes, you have to love them. Of course, she is only letting me think I won this round of our life, but if she packs us up as I asked, I’m fine with it.

  I finished getting dressed and ready. The time on the clock showed I had plenty of time before the first thing on my mental to-do list. So, I sat down at our dining room table to wait for Charlene to put out the breakfast. Moiraine is trying to help her mother, and therefore, breakfast was a few minutes late. It is no concern of mine. I sat back and watched my girls working together. Blazing this moment into my already perfect memory is my goal, a perfect moment to hold dear. I wanted to see us normal one last time.

  We ate breakfast. It was as perfect as I hoped. “Mo, go ahead and finish up getting ready.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She rushed off to her room to pick out the fashion of the day. My wife, my beautiful wife, started to pick up the dishes.

  “You can do those later. I want to sit across this table, hold my wife’s hand, and look into her eyes.” To my surprise, Char didn’t argue or become all obsessive-compulsive on me about how easier it is to keep a house clean than it is to clean a dirty house. “There is something I have never told you in all these years. I want to share it with you now.” A look of concern came to her face. “It’s nothing bad. It is a little something I have kept to myself. Do you remember our first kiss?” Based on how she began to blush, I reckoned she did. “I don’t.”

  A look of confusion hit her. “Nathan, I don’t understand. You can remember everything I thought.”

  I let the comment hang there for a minute. “I can. I have explained my mental filing cabinet to you before. Well, I also have a mental safe where I have hidden memories from myself. Sounds kind of weird, huh? It takes a great deal of mental discipline. It only works with happy memories. My life would have been filled with a lot less sorrow if I could lock up terrible memories.” My daughter came back into the living room to ask her mother to put her hair in ponytails. Charlene started devoting attention to Moiraine’s hair. Continuing, I said, “Remembering all of the ordinary everyday kisses is a simple task, but I locked away in my safe our first kiss. Every time we’re about to,” I looked at Moiraine and chose my next words carefully, “have some adult time, it’s like our first kiss to me all over again. When we finish, I lock those kisses away too.”

  Charlene did something I have never seen her do. She stopped fussing with our daughter’s hair. If Char starts a task, she does it until it’s done and on to the next. “Nathan, is that the truth?”

  “I have never lied to you.”

  “That has got to be… No, it is the most romantic thing you have ever said to me. I thought you could never beat how you proposed. Boy, how I was wrong.”

  Wow, she must be unsettled, because she never admits to being wrong.

  Charlene’s eyes are welling up, and she swallowed hard. “Moiraine, wear your hair straight today.” My daughter said okay without an argument and went back into her room to finish dressing. Charlene stood from the table and walked around to stand next to me. She pulled me up to my feet. She leaned into me and laid a kiss on me like rarely before. “Oh, this is one for the safe.” It is as if I could feel her love firsthand.

  Grudgingly, I pulled away from my wife and said, “If my errands didn’t call, I would stay like this for hours, but you know what a B-word traffic can be.” I was mindful of my words since Mo is walking back into the room and is in earshot. “Mo, Honey, give your daddy a great big hug and kiss. This one needs to last. Your last hug and kiss only lasted a few hours.” I lifted her, looked into her eyes, and pulled her in close to me for a hug. When she was well hugged, I gave her a huge kiss. “Okay, that should last me.” I put her back down. I made my way to the front door and was off. I tried to be strong and not look back.

  If only I were that stron
g.

  My family is standing at the dining room table. Mo is standing right in front of Charlene. Char’s hands are on Mo’s shoulders as if to hold her back. I smiled at them, turned around, opened the door, and walked out. I have enough time to do what needs to be done if I don’t waste any time in the doing. I thought to myself, “I hope John’s an early riser.”

  It was a quiet drive, and because I hit all green lights, I made great time to John’s house. As I exited the car, I could hear some racket coming from the garage. My fist pounded on the garage door. With all the noise coming from John’s power equipment, I didn’t think he would have heard me if I went to the front door. The garage door rolled up. There was John covered in sawdust with a look of annoyance until recognition came to his face.

  “Nate, what are you doing here this early?”

  “Well, John, your neighbors called and complained about all the noise.” John gave me a quizzical look. “Sorry, my sense of humor gets the better of me sometimes. We need to talk.”

  “Okay, son. Let me clean up a bit.” John brushed himself off, and we went into his home. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Sorry, I don’t have any of those diet drinks you like. It’s a little early, but I could pour us a touch if you like. Oh, right, you don’t drink.”

  “No, John, I’m fine thanks.” We sat down, “Before I start in with what I need to talk with you about, let me say you are looking mighty healthy and spry. There seems to be a little bit of a spring in your step. Also, I thought after finishing Charlene’s bed, you were going to give up working with the wood.”

  “It is what I had planned too, but,” he hesitated then continued, “Nathan,” he looked around a bit as if to make sure we weren’t being overheard, “ever since I got to talk with my Marlene it’s like I’m alive again for the first time in years. Thank you for that.”

  “John, you don’t have to…”

  “No, no, I do. The truth of it is I have been waiting to die. Looking forward to it I was. You see, Charlene is not the only one who didn’t say goodbye. I had Char to raise and see after. I didn’t; I couldn’t grieve. When she left me to be with you, I was bitter. Oh, I know it’s the way of things, but it was like my only reason to keep living was gone.”

  “John, please…

  “A little piece of me died each day. You know Marlene, and I have been having many talks. In my dreams mind you. I haven’t gone all Alzheimer on you. Her and I will be together again someday where there ain’t no pain,” John paused a moment, and his face shone. It never dawned on me before, but these ghosts I can talk with confirm there is at least some kind of afterlife. “I just want to live a while longer maybe see a great-grand baby or two from Moiraine. Not too soon mind you, and only after she is properly wed. I don’t hold with the way things seem to be going with young folks these days. When she starts bringing suitors home, I want to loan you that shotgun of mine. It keeps away the riffraff.” He gave me a wink.

  “It made me think about staying away.” We laughed together. “Well, I’m glad to see you in better spirits, or should I say with better spirits,” we both chuckled a bit again. “Talking like this is great, and I could do it for hours, but I have so many things to see done before tonight. Here is what I came to talk to you about.” I gave John the low, and the down on what is happening and what I needed him to do. Surprisingly he neither challenged me nor called those men in white coats.

  John handed me the paperwork I needed and said, “I’ll be ready, Nate. It’s not exactly what I would do, but it’s your call.” We shook hands, and I left for my next errand.

  Quickly I traveled to the next destination on my list. Standing in front of my bank, I was waiting for it to open. An older security guard was waiting at the door until opening. There was a muffled chime from inside the bank. Mister glorified doorman turned the key and opened the door. At the first available teller, I requested access to my safety deposit box.

  After a few minor delays, I managed to get at my stuff. There are only a few items inside mostly paperwork. My birth certificate, both Char’s and Moiraine’s birth certificates, and a few precious knick-knacks. The object I wished to retrieve is my mother’s wedding ring. The day Moiraine was born, I put it in here to give to her for her wedding day. I had originally wanted Char to use it, but she decided to use her mother’s ring instead. It is only worth maybe a couple hundred bucks. It will help a little bit. After I locked the box back up, I headed to a teller to clear out our vast savings. It is maybe three or four months’ worth of bills. Knowing how tight Char can be with a dollar, maybe five. I traveled to my next stop.

  I picked up what I needed at the local hardware store then traveled back home. After getting out the ladder, I set it up next to the broken security camera. I knocked on Mrs. Blake’s front door. From behind the door, I heard her ask, “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, Mrs. Blake, Nathan. I am going to fix the broken camera today. Is there anything else you need me to put a screwdriver or hammer to?” A myriad number of locks and bolts could be heard as they are thrown open. The door cracked open a bit, and I could see her eye looking at me.

  “Oh, Nathan, it is you.” She opened the door wider. Diego made a mad dash out of the door. The mewing of her vast array of other cats is loud enough to drown out Mrs. Blake’s voice. Mrs. Blake is what you would call a classic “little old cat lady.” She stood about five foot nothing. Her gray hair is styled in an old-fashioned roller-set. She probably puts toilet tissue in her hair at night like my mother did in my early years. My mother supported us by working as a cosmetologist or hair-dresser, if you will, and was expected to wear her hair in the style. “Heaven must have sent you, Nathan, that broken camera has put a worry in me. Thank you, Nathan. I don’t trust anyone else to fix things around the house. You’re a good boy.”

  Inwardly I smiled. “Mrs. Blake, you need to go somewhere tonight. Is there anyone you can stay with?”

  “Heavens, no. You’re the closest person I have to family anymore. They’re all gone now. All I have are my cats since Barney died.” She paused and looked sad for a moment. “Why do I need to leave?”

  Flash.

  It is like reality blinked. So strange.

  “An evil man is coming to kill me tonight.”

  Mrs. Blake’s eyes widened, and her head started to twitch left and right. She looked like a squirrel on the side of the road trying to decide if it should cross the street or run the other way as a car approaches. “Leave my home; I can’t leave. What do I do?” Her breathing started to quicken, and little beads of sweat started growing on her face. “Oh Nathan,” Reaching over to her, I put my hand on her shoulder. She started to crumple to the floor. I supported her on her way down and made sure her landing was gentle. Counting her pulse is useless as her heart is racing. I pulled out my phone and called for an ambulance. Mrs. Blake died there on her front porch waiting for help to arrive.

  Flash.

  Reality blinked again. Before I said a word, I paused while I thought about what happened. Mrs. Blake is standing there in front of me. She is not dead, but she died, holding my hand only moments before. Is my imagination running wild? Perhaps a part of me is pointing out she didn’t need to know the truth. Knowing could only hurt her. Quickly, I thought of a lie. “So many lies of late. Am I still the kind of man I had tried to change into?”

  “An old friend of mine is visiting me late tonight, and things might be loud. If you stay in your back bedroom, the noise should be less. It would be a great personal favor to me if you would disregard anything you hear. You have my promise the noise won’t last long.” It never did in my visions.

  “Thank you for telling me, Nathan. My old heart can’t take any surprises anymore.”

  “If I’ve never told you before, let me say you have been a great landlord. In all the years we have lived here, you have not raised the rent. Being able to stay in one home has given great stability to Moiraine. Thank you.” As I started to turn to start work, Mrs. Blake sto
pped me.

  “The pleasure has been mine. Your family has been a joy to rent to. The rent has never been late. You help me with little things around the house. Your daughter is a joy. On her visits here, all my cats just love her to death.” She paused for a moment, “With all the terrible things happening you hear about on the news these days, it is comforting knowing there are still decent people like your family in the world.” She turned and went back into the house. The sound of all her locks going back to their locked positions could be heard through the door. As she walked away from the door, I heard, “Ah, do my babies want a treat?” Well, my task awaits, and I should be about it.

  When I finished with the security camera, I put the ladder away and cleaned up a bit. In the house, I fixed myself a snack. Charlene wasn’t home. She must have gone to visit the kids at Greentree. In the garage, I retrieved the object of both my greatest failure and greatest triumph. Opening the sports bag, I checked on the rifle and made sure it is safe for travel. It is as I left it. With sports bag in hand, I locked up the house, climbed into the car, and headed to Saxie’s Jazz Joint.

  Again, I hit nothing but green lights all the way. I guess it’s my lucky day. Let’s hope my luck holds true. I banged on Saxie’s Jazz Joint’s front door. Being it is daylight hours, it took some time to be answered. Mr. Doorman opened the door.

  “What do you want? The boss is busy.”

  “I’m fine thanks. How are you?” He answered with a deep rumble of a humph. “You know I don’t think I got your name.” I held out my hand, “Nathan Embers, pleased to meet you.” I was left hanging a long moment. What has happened to manners these days? “You said your boss is busy, but he will want to see this.” I lifted the sports bag.

  With an even harsher gravel to his voice than before, “What is it?”

  “Something to trade. A pearl of great price, if you will.”

  “Open it.” He saw what is in the bag. Then faster than I thought this man could move, he grabbed me and flung me into the club. He managed some decent hangtime too. On the floor with a foot on my neck and a gun pointed at my head is where I found myself.