by Jake Aaron
Keala interjected, “And the surreal clearing of the path ahead of us, time after time. I’m still in awe.”
John: “How about Marsh’s smartphone producing the desired message to the Marine guard out of the blue?”
Lee simmered. “Seems Marsh isn’t telling us everything he knows.”
Jed calmly said, “Maybe he can’t. Maybe he’s telling us what he can.”
Following her signature eye-roll, Sondra weighed in, “That’s a bunch of …”
Zeke cut her off, “Marsh tends to be close-mouthed. I’ll press him harder the next time I can. I know our new lives are difficult. Let’s give Marsh the benefit of the doubt …”
Keala jumped in, “Zeke’s right. Marsh has never done anything against our interests. In fact, the evidence is just the opposite. If we think our lives are bad now, just imagine what would have happened if Marsh hadn’t taken John to Idaho. Great work, by the way, John!”
“Thanks, Keala,” John responded. “I can see the headlines: ‘AWOL Sailor Saves Country!’ Did I mention I’m amending my EMP theory?” he jested. He was about to continue when he was interrupted.
“Get a grip, swabby! That ship has sailed,” Sondra said sarcastically. “You’re not in graduate school anymore!”
Zeke and Keala exchanged knowing looks. There she goes again, their eyes said.
Susan took mental notes on Sondra’s latest outburst.
*****
At their compound, Marsh told Jenny their marching orders for the day. “We’re to get Zeke and Susan over to the Bed and Breakfast past Florence. Seems the ten of them aren’t doin as well as the Denton bunch. My guess is Zeke has the prerequisite leadership experience and Susan knows group dynamics. By the way, I texted the Benefactor that the Marines in Idaho need some support. I suggested some options: more manpower, temporary relief — anything to keep the guards’ morale up. And I suggested a resident nuclear engineer.”
“You promised the Marines, didn’t you?” Jenny smiled. “You always keep your word.”
“I’m girding my loins for an onslaught of questions from the Denton bunch. I know the trip raised a lot of questions in their minds. Kind of hard to serve two masters here. The Benefactor wants me to tell very little. The Denton team will want me to explain everything, which I can’t do anyway, in most cases. So, Jen, wise one, tell me how to handle this.”
“Marsh, I heard the loin part. I think I can help you out with that before we leave.” She kissed him, full-mouthed, just in case he was hard of hearing.
Marsh felt deep gratitude for all his blessings. He and Jenny certainly lived better than the rest of the world. They could afford to be happy.
*****
Passing Victor still headed south from the Bison Ranch on I-93, Cody drew his pistol. "Joan, someone headed our way. Arm yourself!"
As they neared the potential threat, Joan said, "Whoever isn't moving very fast. Do you think it's just a ploy?"
"How cynical you are, my dear." Cody laughed.
"I learned from the best!" she returned verbal fire. "He would tell me to watch both sides of that person, to never get target fixation."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Cody chuckled.
One hundred feet from the nearing person, Cody hollered, "Hey, friend, how are you? Nice day, eh?"
There was no reply.
He tried again without getting any response. "Joan, I'm not seeing any expression on the face. I'm putting my pistol in the small of my back. Keep me covered from about thirty feet. I'm going to check him out!"
Cody's mind recorded Joan's okay as he approached the person. "Keep your guard up, Joan, and approach! This person is in some kind of shock or something."
Eyes glazed over, the figure stopped his slow walk when Cody neared him.
"Cody, should we build a fire and take care of him with some water and food?" She put her rifle down in the snow. "His cheeks are nearly frozen. I'm going to warm them with my hands. He's suffered some head trauma." Joan pushed back the parka's hood. "Oh, my gosh, it's a woman!"
"I'll be!" Cody said. "We're so close to where we're headed. I think we should trek on at her pace. It's not far at all."
"This time I believe you, Cody — in contrast to all the times you got me to press on when it was a well-intentioned, morale-boosting lie."
"Trust me?" Cody smiled.
*****
Nearing the Denton Ranch, Marsh rode up to a man and two women three blocks from the gate. “Howdy, partners! Where you headed?”
“Is that you, Marsh? I’ll be damned. Clean shaven and all! It’s Cody Denton here.
“Joan, Marsh is an old friend from the Valley. Marsh, this is my friend Joan. I’m not trying to be rude, but the redhead with us isn’t speaking, so I don’t have a name. We ran into her about two miles back toward Victor. We threw a blanket around her.” All but the redhead shook hands. She looked catatonic.
Marsh nodded at the redhead. “We’ll take good care of you, miss.” He turned his head forty-five degrees toward rustlings and yellow flashes in the nearby thickets. Simultaneously, he moved his right hand deliberately to his pistol. He tamped down his quick-draw reflex to avoid panicking the group.
Joan was unnerved. "What was that?"
Cody chuckled, "Just some of my wild mountain friends, I'm sure."
Marsh nodded. His right hand continued to rest on his weapon. Looking back at his old friend, he said, “Sorry, Cody, didn’t recognize you behind the beard, much less a black one. Where’s your guitar?”
“My guitar is in Moscow, Idaho. I left my heart here. That’s why I’m back,” Cody said.
Marsh dismounted. “Let’s walk on up to your place. That’s where I was headed. I need to introduce you to some folks ... .”
"You know, Marsh, I got one thing out of this recent disaster."
"What's that Cody?"
"My hearing is better, being away from the blessed but loud accompaniment of my band. I've tried wearing one of those hearing protective devices ..."
"Sorry to hear that, Cody, but you're in good company. I heard somewhere that many music greats have suffered similar loss: Frankie Valli, Eric Clampton, and Peter Townshend, to name a few ... . And me!" Marsh joked. "Firing guns has taken a big toll on my ears."
Joan joined in the laughter. "You men have selective hearing anyway. I know that's true of this one, anyway." She pointed at Cody.
Feeling very at home with them, Marsh bent an ear toward Joan. "I'm sorry I didn't catch that!"
"Yeah, yeah ...," Joan began with a grin.
Cody left the banter as he caught sight of his estate. "Something is different!"
*****
Keala and Karen settled the redhead by the fire and forced her to sip warm tea. Both stayed to watch over the new patient.
Meanwhile, everyone else gathered at the kitchen breakfast table. After introductions and nervous apologies from his fellow squatters, Zeke summarized, “Cody, so you didn’t invite us to the New Year’s Eve bash here?”
“No, but from what you’ve said, that was my usual caterer who served you, although I didn’t hire her for New Year's. I have missed several of the shindigs I’ve thrown in the past due to last-minute commitments. She wouldn’t have been surprised at my not being there. One other thing, I didn’t put that hurricane fence around the house, nor the gate, nor the ramparts. Those are new to me. So some things here were done without my knowledge.”
Zeke quickly answered, "The hurricane fence and gate were already here when we arrived. As you might guess, we did add the ramparts for protection against assaults."
Karen tried to further ease Cody's concerns. “Thank you for not being upset to find us here. Everyone in the Valley wants — wanted — to come to one of your legendary parties. That’s why we were so eager to accept!”
Keala added, “Cody, Zeke and I are in your room, the master suite. We’d be more than glad to vacate immediately. Even absent, you have been a great host. Thank you!”
Joan took Marsh’s bait, “Cody, you can’t do that!”
Cody appreciated Marsh’s fun. “Hold it, everyone!” He began to laugh. “No one is getting tossed out. Joan and I will take one of the vacant rooms. Anything will beat where we’ve been. These are hard times. We’re going to have to work together to get through them. Right now, though, I can use a shave.”
“And I can use a hot bath,” Joan added.
Sondra jumped in, “We don’t have that much water …”
Keala cut her off, “Joan, we’ll draw that for you. Just let us know when you’re ready.”
“We can’t do that for everyone!” Sondra insisted.
Karen talked over Sondra, “And I’ll get you a mani-pedi. All the way from Idaho, you and Cody must have some harrowing stories!”
*****
Marsh sat down for coffee in the kitchen with Zeke. The redhead slept on the couch. Every conscious resident eventually joined the two in the kitchen, except Cody and Joan, who were still cleaning up. Marsh put several big bottles of vitamins on the kitchen table. “These are for you all. Hope they are of use. Vitamin C for lack of citrus in your diets. Vitamin D for likely deficiency at this latitude in the winter. I take both myself.”
Zeke tried to sound off-handed. “Where did they come from, Marsh?” He knew the group counted on him to find out more about what Marsh knew. He felt like a dentist trying to extract a molar from a man with his jaws wired shut.
“Trust me, I didn’t make them. As I’ve told you before, people are grateful for what I do. They give me things. Zeke, I am offered so much that I couldn’t tell you who gave those to me. Now, if you don’t mind, we’ll be off to the Bed and Breakfast. That’s a group out Lolo way, well back in the pines. Ten folks, like yourselves, who need help. I’d like to take Susan for her group dynamics expertise and you, Zeke, for your knowledge. You know a lot by virtue of what you all have accomplished here and your industrial engineerig background. It’ll be an overnighter for you two. I’ll settle for another cup of coffee while you pack.”
Susan’s frowning face showed reluctance. “Marsh, I clearly owe you, but John just got back from Idaho. Before that he was sick. Is there …”
Zeke stepped in, “I’m glad to go. Marsh, would you reconsider sending Susan? She’s ideal for what you want, but …”
Keala jumped in, “I know people. I don’t have a lot of formal education, but the airline did train us extensively in group processes. And I’ve had a lot of on-the-job training. I’d be glad to go in place of Susan.”
Marsh looked amused at being outgunned. “Keala, you're now my first choice.”
Keala smiled and smartly left the room to pack an overnight kit. Without turning, she announced her victory, throwing her words over her shoulders, “Thanks, Marsh!” Breezy fit her well.
Marsh elbowed Zeke, “You attract the spunky types, don’t you?”
Zeke was amused at the observation. "Hadn't thought much about it, Marsh. Hmm, I guess ..."
Marsh switched gears from buddy to boss with lightning speed. "Zeke, be sure to bring your cell phone." Equally fast, he rose and headed outside to feed the horses, allowing no questions from Zeke.
Zeke's mind spun: Cell phone? Why? Anyway, no point in questioning Marsh. He knows what he's doing.
*****
The three arrived on horseback at the Bed and Breakfast. Zeke made a quick mental note. The hurricane fence surrounding the property gave him a deja vu of the one surrounding the Denton estate. The offset from the B & B was even similar, and the gate looked identical. Coincidence?
Inside the upscale building, Marsh made introductions. “Zeke and his partner are here to help. In the future, we may take two of you to their location. A little cross-pollination is a good thing for sharing lessons learned. Speeds up the learning curve, a lot.” He didn’t want to further demoralize the B & B group by implying they had nothing worthwhile to share.
He went on, “As an industrial engineer and management consultant, Zeke has an expertise in efficiency that may be particularly helpful. As a professional manager, his partner has a tremendous amount of real-world experience. She is watering the horses now; she’ll be in soon. The two will be observing your processes and interactions. Listen to what they offer with an open mind. They’ll be spending the night. I’m asking you to make them feel welcome. And just so you know, I’ve brought you beans, rice, and canned peaches so the extra mouths won’t be a burden.”
A poised man with a heavy grizzled beard stepped out to shake Zeke’s hand. “Hi, I’m Cap. We’ll be delighted to learn from you, Zeke. If nothing else, it’s strangely comforting to know some folks besides ourselves are coping with the new world order after what I call The Big Un-bang. We welcome you. Our resources are meager, but let us know if you need anything. We have two rooms set aside for you and your partner upstairs. Let me show them to you.”
Zeke quickly responded, “One room will do, if that’s all right with Keala.”
The bearded leader froze in his tracks. It can’t be, he thought. He swallowed hard as cold chills ran up and down his spine. “She isn’t, by chance, a survivor of that jet forced to land on the Bitterroot River, is she?” The proud aviator couldn’t bring himself to say crashed.
Zeke: “She is. Why? Here she comes now. This is Keala. Keala, this is Cap.”
Keala looked dumbfounded. Her past was a locomotive colliding unexpectedly with the granite wall of an immovable present. She lunged at Cap. She hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re safe! The name Cap threw me — and, of course, the beard.”
Cap hugged back much more tentatively than Keala. His pilot mind was quick to comprehend the shocking reality, but his emotions lagged. “I’m sorry. I’m more than overwhelmed.” Just as he was about to return the warm embrace, Keala began to withdraw.
“Yeah, Keala, they started calling me Cap here, for captain. It was close enough to Hap, fit like an old shoe.”
Decoupled from the hug, Keala stepped back. Usually composed, she seemed conflicted on what to do with her body. Then she made several false starts toward hugging the figure before her again. Each time, she restrained herself. She settled on a quick hand gesture to restrain Cap from embracing her again, “Well, Hap, I mean Cap, we’ve some catching up to do — later!”
*****
Zeke had asked Keala to spend all afternoon listening without intervening. Nonetheless, one hour after lunch Zeke could not help himself. He felt compelled to begin offering advice. He knew the fallacy of the not-invented-by-me syndrome, but the Bed and Breakfast way drove him to exasperation. There was immense room for improvement here. He laughed at himself as he remembered the old axiom: Everything is possible — if you don’t have to do it yourself. Time to slow down and start gradually, he told himself.
He persuaded the B & B group to put their outside fire on the backside of the facility to minimize a view from the valley. He showed them how to have more potable water by gathering ice from a nearby creek instead of carrying it from a distant river. He alerted them to the fact that their frozen pipes presented a future problem. Late in the afternoon, he successfully showed them how to hunt deer with a bow and arrow.
At a delightful supper of whitetail deer meat, Zeke and Keala observed the ten residents discussing new day-to-day procedures. Zeke and Keala listened intently to every word spoken. When Keala found out there was actually no elected leader, she suggested a meeting for that purpose. The meeting itself revealed deep-seated issues and personality conflicts. After two straight hours of discussion, no leader was elected.
Zeke thought he’d seen dysfunction before in business and at Denton. This bunch took the cake — and the ice cream.
*****
Zeke showed the group the art and science of building a proper grill fire — just the right size to minimize use of wood while melting ice to water. Cap absented himself,
pulling Keala outside the learning circle to share their recent histories.
“Keala, what you just told me about your survival answers a lot of my questions. After the water landing, when the nose section stopped moving in the river, I went to find you. And that’s all I remember. Apparently I passed out on the cabin floor. I woke up to a nice couple looking over me in their cabin about two miles from the debris, they told me. Around noon that day, they went out to bring back bandages and antiseptic for my head. They never came back. I got some strength back after a couple days and headed toward Missoula.
“On the way I ran into Marsh. He shared some food and water with me around a fire. He was subtle, but it felt like a job interview. He said he needed a replacement for a guy here at the Bed and Breakfast who didn’t come back from hunting. So here I am.
“Not a day goes by without my wondering what happened to you — and the others on the flight. My rescuers said there were many survivors. That’s something anyway.”
“Hap, er Cap, I keep reliving the crash myself. My group found only me the next day, downstream buried in the riverbank …”
“Keala, this is wonderful. You are the love of my life! Come live here. We’ll be married …”
As he reached to kiss her, Keala backed away. “Hap, er Cap, you have a partner here. I’ve seen her. She’s in love with you …”
“Keala, we’re a pair, not a couple. You know huddling here in the winter is now a necessity. Her husband disappeared when he went hunting with Wesley, didn’t come back. Just huddling. You and I are the real deal. Keala …”
From across the deck Zeke watched Cap and Keala out of the corner of his eye. His ears vacuumed in their every word.
Aware Zeke was watching, Keala thought about testing Zeke’s devotion to her. She rethought that. She knew caring people don’t do that. She chose another course. She spoke slightly above a conversational level, “Cap, I’m not the same person you knew. Part of me will always love you.” She touched his arm lightly and quickly pulled away. “But I am in love with Zeke. He is the love of my life!”
Cap misread Keala’s touch and reached for her.
