Chapter Four
Robbie’s phone started vibrating every few seconds. He and Amy were back at the Wells farm. They were steadily selling off all the firewood they’d stacked in the woodshed for the season as Christmas approached. He was helping to load up a pickup truck with a couple of ricks of wood. He excused himself and read through the messages from Dana.
He pumped a fist in excitement and said, “Yes!” then stifled the smile and doubled his efforts loading the truck.
The customer was a man in his early fifties with long hair and a beard. He asked, “Hey man, good news?”
Robbie said, “Sorry, just got some news reports in from Washington DC. Just some crazy stuff going on.” he offered non-committally. He didn’t know the customer very well.
The man nodded emphatically. “No kidding! I think it’s pretty exciting. DC is a total rat pit. It’s about time people woke up. I love how they’re just walking off the job. That attack on the Mall, the MSM’s saying it’s the work of ‘seditionists’. I guess that’s the new terrorist right. What a load of horse shit.”
Robbie shook the man’s hand and closed the pickup tailgate. “Have a great holiday.”
He grabbed Amy’s hand and did a little waltz around the interior of the woodshed, then dipped her. She looked into his eyes waiting for a kiss, but he just pulled her back up. She shook it off and asked, “What happened?”
He handed her his phone and said, “Matt did it again. I was getting really bummed about all the bullshit laws and emergency measures. It was like the bad guys wiped out all our gains overnight, but Matt fought back.”
She smiled as she read through the list, but the light started to fade from her eyes. “Oh shit!” she looked at him.
“What’s it say?” Robbie asked apprehensively.
Amy read the latest headline out loud, “Thousands Feared Dead in Mass Poisoning in Nation’s Capital. Seditionists suspected.” She opened the story and read it to him. “A powerful hallucinogen has been released into the water supply of the nation’s capital today. Thousands are dead or in critical condition from the toxic effects of the drug. Thousands more experienced powerful delusions. Police and the national guard are coordinating the response.”
Robbie picked up an oak log and threw it against the wall of the barn. It broke the planks and thudded heavily onto the floor. He shouted “Those rat fuckers!”
She put a hand on his arm. “Chill!”
He sat on a pile of wood chips on the floor of the shed and held his head in his hands. “It’s so frustrating!” he said sharply. “It’s hard to express how frustrating it is. We’ve chipped away at this thing for years. Really centuries, but always, when a crack starts to appear, it’s patched over, usually with a lot of blood of innocent people who have no fucking clue what’s happening. It’s so evil. They just killed all those people to keep power. On the bright side, it’s even possible the story is completely fake.”
She sat next to him and hugged him around the shoulders. She said, “You do more good for people in a week than most do in a lifetime. You take it completely for granted. I know I can’t understand the depth of your frustration, but don’t forget the good stuff too.”
He held her hand. “Thanks. I really would like to concentrate on the good, simple stuff that makes life better in tangible ways. I think I need a break from the battles!”
She smiled, “Let’s go surprise Tracy and just have a totally mellow, craft-o-rama Christmas.”
He stood up and helped her up. Their eyes locked as he held both her hands. He said, “Maybe one of these days I’ll make an honest woman out of you!” Then he spun on his heel and headed toward the truck. She laughed and followed him and hopped into the passenger’s seat.
“We’re grimy enough from working to make a good impression at Tweedy Pines.” She said with a smile.
They pulled into the parking lot and Robbie rubbed his beard. “We’ll have to text her, and she’ll come running. There’s absolutely no chance for us to perform embarrassing antics.”
Amy texted Tracy and said, “Well, maybe she’s in class and we’ll be able to go in there and pick her up. I think I’ll leave a trail of sawdust.” She swatted some wood shavings off her coat.
They started walking toward the buildings on campus. Robbie threw his hands up. He said, “Oh! See. No chance at all.” Tracy was running out of the dorm with her backpack on.
She threw her arms around both of them. “Let’s go!’
Tracy sat in the middle of the bench seat. Her voice had dropped a half octave since they last picked her up. She said, “We are learning about the solar wheel in my math class. The prof’s going into great and gory detail about the geometry of the sunrise and sunset and the constellations. It’s really interesting. The winter solstice is coming up soon.”
Robbie laughed, “Do you have a cold? What’s with the Sarah Vaughan impression?”
Amy smiled and hugged Tracy around the shoulders and said, “I thought more Fiona Apple.”
Tracy smacked Robbie’s shoulder and wriggled out of Amy’s grip. “Hey people! I’m sensitive about this.”
“We’re just pulling your leg. I think your new voice sounds dignified, even refined.” Robbie gestured theatrically, holding out a cupped hand to a pretend audience.
“Yeah, I’ve always been squeaky.” Amy said. “I’d like to have a deeper voice. More authoritative.”
Tracy sat back in the seat and flipped her hair, “Whateva. It is what it is. Anyway, we should celebrate the solstice with a yule log.”
Robbie nodded. “That’s a good idea! It’s been a few years since we’ve done that. Definitely some real eggnog too.”
Tracy said, “My math prof thinks the yule log tradition is from an ancient greek story, the anointing of Demophon and all that’s connected to the solar cycle, also egyptian myths, and the christian ones, too. Really interesting.”
Robbie’s face lit up. “You know what, the library has an enormous section on Greek mythology. We can look at that stuff over the break.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure. That’d be cool.”
The Chardon Chronicles: Season Two --- The Winter Page 47