Worth Saving (10 page)

“For such a lovely woman, it’s hard to find the right item. Everything would be overwhelmed by your beauty, but I think I have just the thing,” he said, pulling out a long, velvet black box and opening it to show a gold necklace with matching bracelet and earrings. “These were worn by the Governor’s wife at the last inauguration. I picked them up the last time I was in the capitol, didn’t have any idea what I was going to do with them until I saw you. Only someone so beautiful should wear something like this,”

Removing the necklace he smiled as he gently placed it around her neck. She removed her small diamond earrings and gingerly replaced them with the stunning golden pearls from the box, and placed the glittering gold band around her left wrist.

Tinker pulled out a mirror from behind the counter and let her admire herself.

“You can get tho…” Schick started to say before I squeezed his shoulder to shut him up.

“Stay out of it.” I whispered.

Claire and the others all told Susan how wonderful she looked. Spending several minutes admiring each other’s acquisition.

The light was fading so people started mingling towards the front door, although I noticed Susan hanging back. “You want to come in, we’ll make up a place for you in one of the rooms I said.”

“No, No, I usually sleep in my wagon, I have a nice set up in here, all the comforts of home. How about we go fishing tomorrow? I want to talk to you about some things,” He asked.

“OK, tomorrow, I’ll get you real early and we can head down to the river,” I said and turned for the library, “You coming Susan?” I asked.

“I’ll be there in a minute, I want to talk to Tinker for a little bit,” She said, looking in the wagon.

“OK,” I said, and headed up the stairs. I knew she’d safe out here for a while.

.o0o.

I was up before sunrise and gathered my fishing gear, wondering what Tinker wanted to talk about. I had an idea it was about the Compound and Big Jake.

The library was quiet, everyone still asleep, I snuck down the stair and was reaching for the front door, when it gently opened and Susan walked in carrying her tennis shoes. She was as shocked as I was to run into each other like this but she recovered quickly, I didn’t know what to say or where to look. “I’m going fishing,” I said.

“I know,” she said, smiling like a very content woman.

“Are you going with him?” I asked.

Her eyes got a faraway look as she stared off into the distance. “I don’t know, he asked me too, I don’t know. We’ll see.” She seemed to come back to reality, and patted my check and then kissed me on the forehead. “Oh Kris, life is so funny some times. There was a moment when… oh well, then Claire… never mind, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She said and turned and started walking up the stairs, those mesmerizing hips swaying back and forth.

I pulled myself away and met Tinker outside by the wagon. He had a fishing rod and was standing there, sort of nervously, waiting to see what I was going to say. I decided to let him squirm a little, and didn’t say anything, just started walking to the river. Susan was an adult woman, she had every right to make her own decisions. It surprised me how not upset I was. Ever since that kiss with Claire, Susan hadn’t taken up as much of my imagination.

We’d settled in on the bank and had our lines baited and out, both of us sitting there watching the water roll by.

“You know you’ve stuck a stick into a bear’s eye,” he said.

“Didn’t have much choice, it was either that or let him take Claire and Ellen.”

“I know, I wanted to make sure you knew what was what,” he said.

‘I’m not a total idiot, and I’m not some little kid, playing fort. These people needed someone to look after them, they’re no worse off, in fact, I think they’re better, and they think so too.” I knew I was getting defensive but I couldn’t stop myself. I wasn’t sure. He probably thought the whole thing was ridiculous. I hated being thought of as too young, like some kid. Didn’t he realize what was going on, how dare he judge me?

“Okay, okay, I understand,” he said, returning to stare at the water

“So, how many men does he have?” I asked.

“About thirty men, he’s got three women on his own and another twelve for the rest of the men. He’ll have to leave fifteen to guard the thirty people he has working the fields. So figure fifteen that he could take with him.”

I thought about Jenny’s Mrs. Thompson, I wondered if she was one of those twelve women. “Do you think he’ll come for sure?” I asked, and was sort of proud that I hadn’t whined about it.

“He can’t afford not to.” Tinker said, “Plus he wants something else,” he added as he picked up his rod and started reeling it in to check the bait.

I thought about it and figured he was right. We weren’t going to be able to avoid trouble. I wondered if it was better to split up, to
let everyone find their own hiding place, maybe take Claire and Ellen to the mountains. Would she come?

I thought about all the work we’d done, the home we’d made. It wasn’t fair, we couldn’t leave, not now, but could I risk their lives? 

Chapter Thirteen

Susan didn’t leave with the Tinker. He hung around for three days hoping she’d change her mind. I could tell he was itching to leave though. On the third morning he hooked up his wagon, climbed onto his seat and looked down at her, giving her one last opportunity. She backed up a step and stood next to Claire, smiled and blew him a kiss.” Take care Tinker, and hurry back,” she said,

He smiled back, a touch of regret crossing his face, and flicked the reins to start his huge horses out the fence. The boys closed the fence behind him and we all went back upstairs for breakfast. The kids teasing each other and racing up the stairs, Susan quietly followed, not talking, still part of the group.

I was glad she stayed, and yes I had fantasies about me and her. Mostly I thought about being with Claire. That seemed like that was all I ever thought about, sometimes I thought about Susan. What can I say, I was an eighteen year old boy. I had no control over the thoughts that kept popping into my head all day.

I couldn’t tell how Claire felt about Susan staying, or about her spending the last three nights with the Tinker. Claire didn’t talk to me very much since that kiss we shared. I’d thought everything would get easier after the kiss, instead it just got more confused, and I had no idea why. She avoided being alone with me, like she couldn’t trust me or something. She shouldn’t have felt that way, I’d never do anything to hurt her, and it upset me a little to think she thought that way.

We fell into a nice, simple routine after the Tinker left. The discussion we had down by the river was never far from my thoughts. I decided to start making plans, going over ideas. I didn’t say anything to the others. I was worried enough though to do some scouting around, looking for options and alternatives.

Susan, Claire, and I were sitting in the shade of the gazebo on the roof when Hector approached us, pulling an orange extension cord with his left hand, waiving at us with his right as a huge smile spread across his face. “Amigo’s, you are not going to believe this,” he said, reaching down to plug the cord into the black box the Tinker had given him.

A reverberating base beat exploded all around us as four speakers let loose a cacophony of noise from each corner of the roof.  Hector quickly ran to make some adjustments on another piece of equipment until the sound was acceptable.  A popular song I remembered from the radio six or seven years ago wafted across the roof. Susan and Claire squealed like little girls and both jumped up to hug Hector, making him blush, something he says in impossible for Jewish Mexicans.

“It took two days to charge some old car batteries enough. I ran some power cords up here and ipso facto, music. Great huh?” Hector said, having to talk a little louder over the music.

“You are a true genius, our genius,” Susan said, giving him another hug.

“I've missed music so much; I didn’t know how much, it’s unbelievable, thank you. Parts of me have been brought back together,” Claire said, her eyes misting a little as she started swaying in time to the music, her hips rocking back and forth, shoulders and arms twisting and accentuating her steps as she twirled about. I’d never seen Claire like this, free and happy down to her soul. I sat there and watched her, until she stopped and held out her hand for me to come join her.

I was flummoxed, and desperately looked around for some kind of honorable exit. I don’t know the first thing about dancing, and am probably never going to learn. I looked at Susan for help. All she did was laugh and help push me onto the impromptu dance floor. Claire’s face lit up as she held my hand and twirled under it, I tried to keep some type of rhythm. Mostly I moved back and forth and watched Claire. For the first time I saw the teenager she truly was, free of worries and concerns, someone who was enjoying life at that moment. I swore to myself then and there that I’d make more of these type of memories for Claire and the others.

It didn’t take long for the kids to make it up from the street. Ellen burst onto the roof at a full run asking “What’s that? What’s
that noise?” Her eyes as large as saucers, she wore a confused but excited look and kept turning her head trying to figure out where it was coming from. Jenny had pretty much the same expression as she followed her through the roof’s door.

They’ve never heard music before I thought in amazement. My god, they had no idea of what they’d lost. The rest of us at least had some idea, some experience, we could compare and contrast the two times. These little girls would never know which was better, would always wonder about what might have been, what came before. It was a different way of looking at the world. 

An old Chubby Checker tune came on. W
here did Hector find this stuff?
Susan showed the kids how to do the twist. They loved it, swinging their hips side to side, lifting a foot and seeing who could go the lowest. Even Schick/Shuck joined in the dancing, taking turns with the younger girls and trying to outdo each other.

I sat back down and leaned over to Hector and “Thank You, this is great.” He smiled, nodded his head and closed his eyes, enjoying life.

I looked at the group, my family. I considered all we’d accomplished, the sanctuary we had built and how it made life a little better. The chickens across the way. The bridges and gardens. I have to admit that my chest puffed out a little. I couldn’t help but be proud and I knew my dad would have been proud of me. I’d made the right choice.

Claire sate down next to me, close, and without saying anything slipped her hand into mine and leaned against me. Life couldn’t get better than it was right at that moment.

I sometimes think that day was the high point of the summer. Oh we’d still have a lot of good times, but that was the best, after that day, things started to turn.

.o0o.

I was helping Margaret tie up some tomato plants that were threatening to take over the planter when Schick came barreling onto the roof, stammering something about Shuck being missing. I had to calm him down to find out what it was all about. He looked scared and sheepish as he breathlessly told me the story. The boys had been out scavenging, and had gone a little farther than normal, about four miles from the house, out by the outskirts of town. They’d split up to search a warehouse,
something they weren’t supposed to do,
agreeing to meet back at the front entrance in about thirty minutes.

Shuck had never shown up. “I searched, the place is huge, and he didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to do,” he said, looking lost and very frightened.

I gathered Hector and Claire and every weapon we could lay our hands on and followed Schick as he started jogging towards the distant warehouse.  I stopped the group when we reached the parking lot. It was empty of cars, a huge asphalt covered open space divided by thousands of fading white lines. We slowly got our breath back while I tried to get a sense of things. Everything seemed normal.

The warehouse was huge, three stories high and several city blocks long. The building was made of cinder blocks and tan stucco, standing there like a lump on a log, quiet and imposing. Several bay doors where open and I realized why Schick had come for reinforcements, Shuck could be anywhere.

Weak light spilled through the broken windows and open bay door. It smelled of dust and a faint mechanical oil aroma that reminded me of my dad’s workshop. The parts and inventory were stacked on giant metal platforms rising all the way to the roof. The platforms were set in squares making a grid pattern and were filled with boxes, some of them on wooden pallets and wrapped in plastic.

“SHUCK,” Hector yelled. We all stopped moving and listened. A hollow silence answered.

“Let’s start at one end and work our way down the rows, staying together, I don’t want to lose anyone else,” I said.

We spaced ourselves out and started creeping down the major aisles. Occasionally someone would cry out for Shuck. We each had a powerful flashlight, using recharged batteries from Hector’s solar contraption. The rows towered over us and blocked out the weak light, I tried to read what was written on the boxes. This section was made up of car parts. My stomach hurt as I wondered what could have happened to Shuck. It wasn’t like him to get into trouble. OK sure, he could do things that were less than smart, but they were always intentional, and never anything like this.

We’d gone about a third of the way through the cavernous warehouse when I caught movement ahead. Two grids down, something big, a flash of tawny brown caught in the flashlight beam.

“Guys, come here quick, now,” I hissed and immediately the other three joined me. All of us peered down the aisle, not believing what we saw. A huge brown mountain lion was pacing below a metal staging tower, surrounded by spilled boxes. The big cat had trapped something on the platform.

“That’s something you don’t see every day,” Claire said

My hand gripped my bow, the arrow weaving left and right as I tried to track the animal. “I thought you were kidding about the tiger thing,” I said to Claire, my eyes never leaving the animal in front of us.

“I never said anything about joking,” She whispered back.

The cat’s eyes flashed as his big square head pointed towards us for a brief moment. He was more interested in whatever he’d treed and continued his pacing. We stood there for several minutes; no one had any idea what to do next.

“Whatever you do, do not shoot, you’ll just piss it off,” Hector said.

I didn’t take offense; I’d already thought the same thing. It must have been at least nine feet long from nose to tail and 180 pounds of solid muscle that looked like it could eat a small village for lunch.

“Hold on,” Claire said. Believe me none of us planned on going anywhere. She ran to the other aisle and came back with some cloth, and a long board. “Coveralls,” she said, answering our looked. She quickly tied the cloth around the board and pulled out a lighter from her jean pocket, probably the one she used to light the kitchen stove.

The cloth was slow to light. Once it was burning it spread quickly and produced a nice flame. She leaned down and slid the fiery torch along the cement floor towards the cougar.

The flaming torch ground to a stop about ten feet away from its target. Thankfully it was close enough to back him off a few steps.

“Quick, more,” she said.

We all started trying to find things to burn while being sure to keep an eye on the cat. He had put his paws on some boxes and was trying to look up into the platform above, froze and dropped down and started slinking towards us, his head steady as a rock. I felt like a lamb tied to a stake as I dropped my fire materials and quickly brought my bow back around. I was pretty sure my bow would be useless, unless I got a vital spot on the first try. And even then, I didn’t think it would be enough.

A flame flared next to me and a small burning box flew by my head and landed in front of the big cat and flashed into sparks.

The cat jumped out of the way and let loose a roar that sent chills down my spine. The sound belonged in the high mountain forest, not in this building in the center of the city. The cat roared again then turned and ran off into the dark. The moment he disappeared, my guts wanted to empty. I realized we were now in much more danger. We had no idea where the cat was; he could hide and pounce at any time, jumping us from the dark without warning.

“Quick guys, keep your lights pointed down the rows, and let’s keep something burning, with more ready,” I said as I started piling up boxes making a crude pyramid. I stepped up and saw Shuck lying on his back, his shirt tied around his leg covered in blood. He
was breathing, barely. I had no idea what other injuries he might have but I didn’t have time to find out, we needed to get outside where we could see far enough to get some type of warning before being attacked.

I lowered him to the others then jumped down. They helped me sling him over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry and the five of us started for the exit. The other three surrounded me and peaked around every corner before we crossed into the next row. My shoulders crawled, anticipating big white fangs sinking into the back of my neck.

We were almost there when I heard something behind us, soft and quiet. Claire heard it too and twisted, placing herself between me and the sound, holding her burning torch up high and sweeping her flashlight beam back and forth. My stomach clenched in worry, it felt wrong all the way to my middle. I couldn’t put Shuck down and take over and Claire would have been worse than the mountain lion if I’d tried.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few seconds, we made our way out into the beautiful sunshine. We didn’t hang around, instead crossed the parking lot as fast as we could and made our way into a building across the street.

I put Shuck down and Clair took over, pulling medical supplies and a bottle of water from her pack. The girl was amazing. I hadn’t thought about that stuff, Claire, being Claire, was ready for anything.

Shuck’s leg looked like a shredded ribbon, three long gashes running down his calf. It looked like the cat had raked his leg while he was trying to climb up onto the raised platform.

His eyelids fluttered open as Claire started applying her famous Hydrogen Peroxide. I left Claire to do her thing and stepped to the door, joining Hector and Scheck in scanning the warehouse.

“Man I thought the dogs were scary, I never thought we had to worry about some feshtuga cat,” Hector said.