by E A Lake
Huh, it almost sounded like he was truly, actually, sincerely proud of me. Go figure.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO
Fall and winter passed quietly. I received semi-weekly updates on Shaklin and all seemed in order. According to Karlos' people, he was doing everything above the board by the new rules. Whether that was true or not was open to debate.
Tony Shaklin was a true survivor, a man who actually thrived in the apocalypse. Where others gave up and died away, he prospered. He still had his farming operation, large herds of pigs and cows and plenty of people looking for work in exchange for food, clothing, shelter and protection. He had the answers that others only dreamt existed any more.
I figured he had bought off the five people Karlos had left behind. He bought friends, wives, even a judge. So why not five people more than 20 miles from their usual territory? When I mentioned it to Ed, he sent word to Karlos and we heard that five new people were sent immediately, just in case. After that, every two months, five fresh replacements would arrive and Shaklin would be forced to keep his end of the bargain.
Karlos turned out to be a great ally. It was strange to me, given that he had chased me off originally. Who knew my crazy father held so much clout.
Robert and Charolette were married in the late fall, just before the first snow coated the ground. They were happy, both of them. And though the young woman's interesting idiosyncrasies still made her a nut in my mind, she was a happy nut.
They moved into Robert's shack and immediately began remodeling; Charolette's wishes. By mid-winter, I was told they were done and all was well. That didn't explain why I heard hammering day and night until late spring, but Morgan claimed all was going well.
Several times when I ran into Ronnie, I asked him how his brother and new wife were doing. Each time, he got a funny look on his face and shrugged. Yeah, Charolette was most likely a handful.
"He's adopted a new saying," Ronnie told me the last time I saw him, speaking of his brother. "He says it helps him keep a perspective on things. ‘Happy wife, happy life.’" That pretty well summed it up, I figured.
When Pastor Tim – yes, the stutterer – asked Morgan one day if she thought if it would be alright to begin courting Sasha, we all had a good laugh. Well, everyone but Sasha. There was no way we all figured that anything would come of a single date; and, as usual, we were all wrong. Of course, most of us thought we would die at Shaklin's farm the previous fall, so what kind of insight did we really have?
Liv moved in with Morgan and me after my parent's house was finished. Though she was Sara's best friend, something else was going on there, so we greeted her with open arms. She even got to share a bedroom with my crazy aunt for a few weeks. Audra then moved in with my parents only after they secured the exact kind of bed she had requested. And by exact, I mean to say they took the one from our second guest room. We still had a spot for Liv and she was happy to get rid of her odd housemate.
Sara's issues became my issues one early winter afternoon when she came to my office and stood before me with hands on hips.
"I'm going to date whoever I want to," she stated with authority and an angry look.
That of course meant she and Morgan had been fighting. Again. So to take the easy way out, I nodded and opened my arms wide.
"Love the idea. Who's the lucky fella?"
"Cooley," she replied. I could have been knocked over by a breath at that point.
"Cooley," I repeated, just to be sure I'd heard the right name. "As in the dimwit of a deputy of mine, Cooley. Right?"
She nodded once. "Don't try to talk me out of it. I like him and I'm ready to date again."
"Date who?" Art said as he strolled into the office from rounds.
"Cooley," I said, holding back laughter.
Art stopped in place, nearly mid-stride. His eyes darted from side to side several times before he turned his face towards Sara.
"Cooley?" he repeated in the form of a question. He shrugged and continued to his chair. "Nice boy. Have fun."
Sara rolled her eyes and stomped away, presumably to go do battle with Morgan some more.
"I think she's either goofy," Art said with a grin. "Or has lost her marbles."
I agreed, but what the heck. As long as I didn't have to date the lad, what did I care? But if that damned kid ever broke her heart, I knew one massive man who was still in town and would certainly take offense.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE
When the warm spring winds arrived, forcing buds to pop in the maples and other softwoods, Ed, Tim and Tom got right at building their new church in Pimento. I was amazed by the amount of people who came from his old flock to help out and the materials they were able to scavenge and come up with. While I thought it would take until fall to finish the project, Reverend Edward Reynolds held his first service in mid-May. Morgan and her friends attended and sat in the front row with my mother. Behind them sat Robert, Cooley, Art, Petri, Brutus and me. Yeah, even I was amazed I attended.
In late June, a quaint little church in Farmersburg was completed and, as promised, I gave the first sermon. That was, right after I ferried Mayor Keenan and her entire family to church in a rather ornate carriage. I even wore a chauffeur’s outfit, including a stupid cap, because that was part of the deal. Morgan was right; it wasn't as awful as I had made it out to be. Humbling, but not awful.
Now, the sermon on the other hand was awful. For two weeks leading up to it, my darling wife had begged me to practice. I informed her that I’d read it over several times and had the general gist of it. Man, was I ever wrong.
Apparently, the draft my father had given me was just that – a draft. He had thought, I'm not sure why, that I'd put my own finishing touches here and there, expounding on some points and deleting others. What happened would have been comical if it hadn't droned on so long.
An hour and a half. That's how long I spoke for, trying to make sense of Ed's rambling text. I would have quit after the 30-minute mark, but either Tim or Tom kept jumping to his feet, shouting "Alleluia, Brother!" That made other, more effervescent members of the congregation do the same and Ed kept signaling to me to continue.
When I’d finished, I was so hoarse that I didn't think I could even squeak out a thank you. That, of course, wasn't a problem. Thanks to the devious and always villainous Sara Keenan, every single person in attendance felt the need to hug me and shriek "Praise God!" so loud that I almost went deaf. Maybe if Sara and her whole family hadn't started the process, no one else would have felt the need to do so.
But a deal was a deal. And I was almost finished with her and her wicked ways. Almost.
"Sit still," Morgan chastised. "I need to get this on evenly."
I'm sure I was pouting, but there wasn't any chance I'd be smiling. Not in the next week at least.
"I think you got enough on," I moaned. "I just want to get this over with."
Morgan took a pause from her duty and grinned. "If you're going to do this, and need I remind you that you have to, you may as well do it right."
Sure, whatever. "If you're gonna do this..." I mocked. "I must have been out of my mind to agree to this. And in the end, it was pointless. Ed didn't help me one bit."
Morgan went back to painting my face with a white paste and shook her head. "Karlos only came because Ed sent Tim to ask him to."
"Yeah, and he told them they could bring weapons. We couldn't bring any weapons, but Karlos could. What a bunch of crap. And you know what I mean. It wasn't his people who saved our skins, it was Karlos'."
"Two red circles and we'll be done," she continued. "The weather is perfect for a Fourth of July picnic. Not too hot, just a slight breeze. So nice."
I recalled something from a few years back. A boring, early fall afternoon where I stared at three apples sitting on my desk, chatting mindlessly with Lucas Cotter.
"Shit, Lucas was the rat," I muttered. "I juggled right in front of him in the office a few years ago. He must have t
old Sara. That's where this all comes from. And here I thought he was my friend."
"Oh stop it," Morgan said, slapping my shoulder. "You're a handsome juggling clown. The kids are going to love you. And in the end, everything worked out for the best. Even better than I ever expected."
She held up a mirror and there I was. An idiot with a painted white face, wearing a colorful polka dot clown outfit, complete with oversized shoes stared back at me. Oh, the price of success.
What was better than a picnic on Independence Day with beautiful weather and a juggling clown? Me not being the juggling clown. But after that day, I was free of Sara’s curse.
"If they do this next year," Morgan said, putting away the makeup and face paint, "we'll be able to bring the baby. She'll be six months old by then."
I laid a hand on my wife's belly. "He. We've talked about this. We're having a boy. I'm done with girls for now."
She kissed me on the lips and told me she loved me. And that the baby was most definitely a girl and her name would be Victoria. That was both of her grandmother's names, after all.
"And if it's a boy," I said, grabbing three orange balls off the table, "we name him Edward, after our own personal savior."
Morgan nodded and gave me one last hug. "Go entertain those children now. And remember, have fun."
Oh, was I ever having fun. Life had finally become wonderful again, so fun was easy to find. Even if it meant I had to dress up like a clown now and then.
##########
Did you enjoy this boxed set?
If so, would you please consider leaving a review on Amazon?
It’s easy to do and I would consider it an honor having you leave one for others, and me, to read.
At the end of this book you will have the chance to do just such. Thank you.
Also, be sure to check out what I’m working on next for you by going to
my website ealake.com
I appreciate your support.
e a lake
Thank you for reading my latest creation.
And now, I have a free gift for you.
Receive your free copy by clicking here.
The Unjust must pay the price; after all, they have caused the darkness.
Other Books by e a lake
Find out EVERY time lake releases something by going to ealake.com/contact and filling out the contact form at the bottom of the page. In the comment box, simply state “Add me to your email list.” Sign up today; all people on my list are eligible for my monthly prize drawings.
WWIV Series (4 books)
WWIV Shorts (2 books)
The No Where Apocalypse (4 books)
Seasons - A Year in the Apocalypse
Glitched
The Remnants of Antietam
Click on any book above for further details
About the Author
e a lake and his wife reside in Woodbury, MN; just a mere ten minutes from downtown St. Paul. He has three grown children (all married), and four grandchildren.
Sign up for lake’s newsletter at:
http://ealake.com/newsletter/
Follow lake’s weekly blog at:
http://ealake.blogspot.com/
Follow lake on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/ealake5
Follow lake on FaceBook at:
https://www.facebook.com/ealake5?
And finally, on Google+ at:
https://plus.google.com/+EALake/posts
And, as always, thank you for reading my novels.
