Mo and Tag both showed some concern, but I said, “That’s Mike’s police buddies. They’ll make a fine addition to the group. You guys will like them.”
Mike actually showed some excitement, not to the degree that I showed when I first made contact with Mo, but you could tell he was thrilled that they had arrived.
Mike contacted the West roadblock and told them to let them through as well, and when they pulled into the driveway, we were all outside ready to greet them. The minute they pulled in, Red fell in love. He had always wanted a 1965 Mustang and especially one in original condition like John now had. He was actually thrilled that he might get to work on it in the future.
After making all of the introductions, we all talked for hours filling each other in on what everyone had gone through and seen since the EMP went off.
Lulu, Sofia, and Isabella were thrilled that they had another new friend to play with and Becky warmed up to them very quickly. Soon, the four of them were out playing, and it wasn’t too long that Joanna, Blake and Laura’s daughter came out to play with them as well.
We all talked for the rest of the day until the ladies stated they had to get up to start dinner. At that point, Mo and I now discussed how it was time to start playing musical chairs with the housing arrangements again.
****
That night was a night for bad news. Some from overseas that we heard on the shortwave and a local report that Red received on the ham radio.
On the shortwave, we received sketchy reports that the EU had made a massive nuclear strike on Iran with confirmed hits in the cities of Tehran, Tabriz, Masule, Bandar-e Abbas, Zahedan, Mashhad, and Gombad-e Kavus. During the attack though, it was reported that somehow, Iran was able to retaliate with two nuclear missiles that hit England. The first one hit in Portsmouth England where the HMNB Portsmouth Naval Yards are located and is the home to two-thirds of the Royal Navy’s Surface Fleet.
The second missile hit in Plymouth England at the JMNB Devonport Naval Yards which is the largest naval base in western Europe.
Apparently, there were several questions on how the missiles made it through as it was the responsibility of the EU to defend England against all attacks using their missile defense system provided a year earlier by the United States to Poland and Eastern Europe.
The BBC had just started reporting about an unidentified ship that had launched a missile when we suddenly lost the signal.
Red had found out on the ham that a few days earlier, the pastor of the East Lynne Church was helping some folks that came in on foot and said that they were trying to make their way to their home in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He gave them food and even offered to let them stay in the basement of the church overnight to rest. Sometime during the night, though, he was murdered, and they took all the food that they could carry and was leaving town towards the north. When the pastor's body was discovered with a knife in his chest, several of the town’s guards chased down the group, and it turned into a bloodbath. Apparently, everyone in that group was killed but not before they killed two of the guards, one by an ax and another by someone that had thrown a hatchet, hitting the guard right in the chest.
Since then, the market they had set up has been closed, and they aren’t sure if they’ll open it again.
Red mentioned that he was sure several of us would like to attend the funeral, but he was told that he had already been buried.
The news shook us up pretty good, especially Laura as she knew the pastor well. The idea that a pastor of a church being murdered, especially after being compassionate and helpful to the murderers, was hard to comprehend. It was a reminder to all of us though, why we just couldn’t open our community to just anyone that needed help as there was always a danger of something like this.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A couple of weeks had gone by, and everything was relatively peaceful. Since John and Robert had transportation, we had them move into an abandoned house on the corner of the mile section north of us. Mo and Angela agreed to let Becky, John’s daughter, stay with them, which thrilled Lulu. That way she’d have all the other girls to play with and John would be at the farm most of the time anyway.
Wit and Red took the jeep and drove to the middle school outside of Holden, Missouri and brought back a blackboard and several textbooks for various grades. Angela and all the parents were thrilled as now all the kids would be attending classes. Angela had a challenge with the various ages of the children. Trying to teach the different grades they would have been in was difficult but Angela accepted the challenge with joy as she said it was no different than the old country schools where one teacher would teach all the different ages.
Jake and I moved a large mobile home to the farm that was abandoned on Highway Two. It was a challenge moving it the three miles we had to. First, none of the wheels were on the home but luckily the wheels from the mobile home we got from Jake worked. Once we set it up, Laura, Blake’s wife, and her children moved into it. Thank goodness it already had a Franklin Wood stove in it.
We hadn’t had any problems with the bikers that we know killed Blake, even though I had everyone stay on high alert for them. Even the sound of motorcycles or ATVs was to be reported immediately as we knew that sooner or later we were going to run into them again.
For days that followed, Wit, Mike, and John, as John was in the marine reserves, trained the ladies, plus Paul, Santiago, and Robert on patrolling, tactics and procedures. I really expected them to complain as I insisted that Wit and Mike put them through almost a basic training, but they all did well and stayed motivated. There were a lot of sore muscles, but I was really proud of all of them, and they learned well. I was still reluctant on having them as a part of the security teams, but they proved themselves quickly.
I had to accept the idea that we needed everyone to be trained as a soldier just like I predicted. We all knew there would come a time when everyone would be needed in defensive and possibly offensive operations.
Even with the much larger area to patrol, I still insisted on everyone having at least one day off. Mike arranged it where our group would be all together and the relatively new people in our community would have another day off. For the most part, on days off, we would mainly worry about the roadblocks being manned but with fewer patrols.
On the next Saturday, which was our group's day off, the day brought along with it some news that would eventually make us all do some real soul searching in the near future.
When I woke up, I really felt good. As I was walking through the living room, Brandy, Angela, Kim, Mia, Paul, and Mike were sitting around talking. Anymore it seemed like Paul and Mia, and Brandy and Mike were always together.
We said our good mornings and I walked in to get a cup of coffee. I could overhear them talking about how so many people in the past let themselves be controlled by peer pressure. I heard Mia say that she used to be that way, and nowadays she couldn’t stand people like that and that she tried her best not to fall for it anymore. I also realized that I hadn’t given her a hard time about her dad’s nickname for her. So what a great time to bring it up.
The moment I heard Mia say it, I walked in, “Really Munchkin? Have you never fallen to peer pressure? You Munchkin?”
At first, she turned two shades of red, and everyone except for Kim questioned where I came up with Munchkin. I just smiled as Mia pointed at me with a semi-stern look meaning, “You better not tell them.”
I laughed, “Oh, I don’t know. It’s just a name that came to mind. So Munchkin, you don’t fall to peer pressure, huh?”
Mia smiled because she knew what I was talking about but as I turned and walked back into the kitchen, she started to get a little upset and followed me in.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“No!”
Then, with some anger and a scowl on her face, she replied, “Ok, I was an idiot. I admit it, but you knew the pressure I was under.”
I was shocked tha
t I had hit a nerve because I said it fun.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,… Mia,… I was only playing. Geez!... anyway, that’s ancient history. ”
“Well, don’t play about that! It really hurts coming from you.”
Everyone in the living room went quiet. With everyone living together the way we were, sometimes it was hard not to hear everything that was going on.
Kim came walking in and sternly asked, “Hey, what’s going on?”
When Mia saw Kim, she suddenly turned embarrassed and then looked at me sheepishly saying, “Oh, I’m sorry Vince. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. I’m just not very proud of that time of my life. That’s when I was under the influence of the Hollywood scene.
Kim, I’m sorry…. but Vince reminded me of the time when you guys came out on that surprise visit and I was with my friends and acted so differently towards you guys. That haunts me to this day.”
Kim smiled, then chuckled, “Mia, if I remember right, you apologized to us about a hundred times that night. We don’t think anything about it. We surprised you and came to you and your friend’s hang out.”
“I know, but I shouldn’t of have acted that way. It still bothers me when I think about it.”
“You need to stop it. Mia, we know that wasn’t the real you and we just caught you off-guard.”
I spoke up, “I’m really sorry Mia,… I was just playing. When I heard you say what you did, I just took the opportunity. I didn’t know it still bothered you. I meant it just as a jab though.”
She came up, and we gave each other a hug, and she remarked, “You know better than most how I was so wrapped up in my acting career, and if you didn’t go along with the Hollywood elitists, you didn’t work.”
Then with an embarrassed laugh, she asked, “Do you remember that stupid heading I had on my Twitter page?”
“Yeah, I’ll never forget that.”
Just then I saw Paul lurking at the entrance to the kitchen.
Mia spotting him said, “I see you Paul, come on in.”
Paul walked in sheepishly, and they both smiled at each other, and he asked, “Sorry. But what did you have on your Twitter page?”
Mia turned red again, “Listen; you have to understand, all I cared about at that time was getting another part. “Together,” had just been canceled and since I was listening to my dumb agent, I didn’t see any significant parts coming in the future. Anyway, I had the saying, “I’d give up any guy for a movie part but I wouldn’t give up a movie part for a guy.”
“Really!”
“Paul, I’m not that way anymore. Really! Please believe me.”
Kim and I both grin because Mia was showing that she really cared for Paul. I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to her, but now I had the feeling that I didn’t need to.
Paul smiled, “Hey, I believe you. You don’t have to worry about me questioning anyone about peer pressure. I fell for it big time before my life went to hell in a handbasket.”
Mia started to go up to him and give him a kiss, but then they both realized that we were right there and she didn’t know that Paul had talked to me about her.
Kim slyly asked, “Oooooh! Are you guys finally admitting that you have a thing for each other?”
Paul got an embarrassed grin on his face and Mia, who usually doesn’t hesitate to say what she means, started stuttering on her words and finally replied, “Yeah, we’re seeing where it will go…. but we didn’t want everyone to know right now.”
Kim and I both burst out laughing, and Kim said, “Mia, everyone has known for some time.”
Mia immediately looked at Kim with a stern look and Paul looked at me in the same way, both suspecting that we had each spread the news around. Mia had talked to Kim about it, and of course, Paul had talked to me.
We both laughed and said that we hadn’t told anyone.
Brandy and Mike then walked around the corner and Brandy remarked, “No one told us, it was just so obvious. Always patrolling together and monitoring the radio together. Plus both of you have walked around on cloud nine. It’s about time you guys let the cat out of the bag.”
Just about that time Mo came walking in the back door.“Mo, what is the biggest thing you know about Mia and Paul?”
Not knowing for sure what I was talking about, he acted puzzled, “The only thing I know about them is they’re a couple.”
We all burst out laughing, “See? It wasn’t a state secret.”
“I think it’s good that it came out.” Brandy remarked laughing.
I smiled, “Oh really Brandy. Well if that’s the case, when are you and Mike going to admit that you two have a thing going?”
This time it was Brandy’s turn to turn red, while Mike turned his head and rolled his eyes while saying, more to himself, “Really Dad?”
Brandy showing how in many ways she was like Carmen, said boldly, “We haven’t talked to anyone. How did you guys know?”
Mo spoke up with his classic laugh, “That’s been common knowledge longer than Paul and Mia have been.”
Brandy laughed, “Yes. I care for Mike a lot. I’ll admit it.”
We all looked at Mike who was standing there with his normal sober face. I mentioned how with Mike, I’m surprised Brandy even knew it with the way he keeps secrets.
When Mike heard that, he said, “Oh really? Ok, you want to hear me say how I feel. I love Brandy…. I love Brandy. Is that what you want to hear?”
Brandy looked over at him with a stunned look. We all went quiet as Brandy just stared at him. Finally, she remarked, “You’ve never told me you loved me.”
Mike got a shocked look on his face, realizing that he “spilled the beans,” then after a few moments, he acted very bold, “I do love you. I started falling for you after you introduced yourself to me and I saw you shoot.”
She got a very puzzled look on her face like she was asking, “What?”
“When you introduced yourself, you asked me to teach you how to shoot. Once I saw you shoot for real, I realized you didn’t need anyone to teach you….. not as much as you acted like anyway. So I realized that was a come on by you. So, that’s when I became interested.”
We all broke out laughing, including Brandy and Mike.
Then Brandy replied, “Well, it apparently worked didn’t it?” causing us all to laugh again.
Brandy then walked up to Mike and looked him in the eyes, “I love you too. I have for quite a while.” Then kissed him.
At that point, Kim, Mia, and Angela came out with that classic, “ahhh,” and Kim said, “That’s so sweet,” and started to tear up.
Then Brandy did the funniest thing that I had seen in a long time. She took a step back, slapped Mike on the arm and stated, “It took you long enough to show you were interested.” We all lost it at that point but especially when Mike started rubbing his arm and remarked, “I can see I better not ever cross you.”
Right after everyone started doing their own thing, I could see Mia wanted to talk to us, so we walked back to the bedroom.
“Are you guys alright with this?” Mia asked.
I gave her a huge smile, “Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?”
“Mia, we love you. You know that.” Kim responded.
“I know, but this is a little weird. Usually, when parents meet their son’s girlfriend, that’s when the parents start learning about her. With us, you guys know me better than Paul knows me.”
I started laughing, “That’s true. I didn’t think about that. We probably know some things that you’ll be reluctant to tell Paul.”
“Yeah, You’re right.”
Kim laughed but then said, “I know you’re halfway kidding, but if you guys really start getting serious, you can’t think that way, Mia. With any partner, you need to be upfront. They need to be one of your best friends. There has to be complete trust and honesty.”
“That’s true Mia. Both of us have made about every mistake you could make throughout our years but that’s how
you learn. When we found true peace and happiness though, is when we finally accepted responsibility for our past mistakes and when we got together we both decided to be open and honest about everything. Heck, I even know all of Kim’s sexual fantasies, and she knows mine. We share everything together.”
Mia smiled, “I have learned that from your guys. I have sat back, for what's coming up on five years now and watched you guys and I’ve never seen a couple so close and happy. I think that’s why I got so frustrated with romance for a long time because I couldn’t find someone to be that close with.”
“It takes time Mia, but it won’t happen unless you try your best to lay all your cards on the table and let him know that you want the same from him. The biggest thing to avoid is jealousy. Jealousy is a cancer.
Now, I’m not talking about the cute little jealousy that everyone gets but the controlling, obsessive jealousy that many have. That’ll kill love faster than anything I know of. People that think that way are the ones that are either in a miserable relationship or can’t find a relationship because they run everyone off. They go into relationships feeling they can’t truly trust anyone.
Especially those that have had a spouse that was unfaithful to them, they carry that baggage into their next relationship and treat everyone like they’re one step away from being unfaithful. You can’t live that way.” Kim said sincerely.
“That’s true Mia. As you know, both Kim and I were married to people who were filled with jealousy, and it turned out that they were screwing around on us. After a while of being accused and condemned for being unfaithful, even though neither of us had, we both started thinking about it.
I can’t speak for Kim, but after years of being accused of it, I finally said to myself, “Well, if I’m going to be constantly accused and condemned for it, I might as well enjoy it. When we finally ended our marriage, I found out that she’d been messing around on me for years before I even had those thoughts.
Anyway, when Kim and I met, we had both matured, and while we were getting to know one another, we were totally honest with each other and found out we had similar backgrounds with our first marriages. That made us feel even closer.
Into the Apocalypse Page 33