“I think Allex has a good point, Tom, and as she pointed out, we won’t be taking anything from the community this way.” Jim leaned back, took a sip of wine while leveling his gaze at me.
“Okay you two, what went on out there?” Tom burst out. “How is it you risked your lives?”
Jim and I exchanged glances.
“I don’t even know where to start…” I said.
“I know you didn’t want it discussed, Allex, however, I think Tom should know,” Jim said softly.
“Perhaps,” I said, turning to Tom, our close friend, “on the condition you never say a word to anyone. My sons must never know.”
“What happened?” he asked gravely, concern etched deeply on his face.
“Promise me first, Tom,” I said.
“Of course I promise, Allex.” He looked from me to Jim and back to me. I looked at Jim and gave the slightest nod for him to start.
“To keep it as brief as possible, the second week out Allex was abducted by a gang of escaped cons and I was left for dead,” Jim began.
“When they told me Jim was dead, I felt a grief second only to what I did when Mark died. After that, I didn’t care what they did to me,” I said.
“After I came to, I followed their trail only to find I was outnumbered twenty to one. I hated leaving her there.” Jim stood. “I need something stronger than wine for this.” He came back out with a tray, three glasses filled with ice, and our preferred liquor.
“Jim had traveled half the night with a severe concussion to bring back a troop of soldiers from the Soo,” I continued the story.
“During that one day, though, she was beaten and tortured. Her toes were broken and dislocated, the soles of her feet were beaten with a belt buckle, and she suffered a cracked rib. She couldn’t even walk,” Jim said angrily.
“I still think that cracked rib came from hitting the tree,” I said to Jim.
Tom was listening intently, stunned, looking from me to Jim as we spoke.
“When Jim showed up to rescue me, I felt more than relief. I feel that’s when things changed for me. I was completely liberated from my past.”
“Wait, back up. What tree?”
“I fell in the new river and almost drowned. The current, and something else, slammed me into a fallen tree where I held on until Jim pulled me out.”
“She bounced off rocks, slammed her chest into a tree, and suffered severe hypothermia. This is one tough lady we have here, Tom,” Jim said, smiling warmly at me.
“This was before the kidnapping?” Tom asked, still stunned.
“Yes, so she suffered bruises on her bruises.” Jim took another swallow.
Tom turned to me. “Allex, were you…?”
“No, I was not sexually assaulted, but the rest of it was just as bad.”
Tom leaned back in his chair. It rocked on the heavy duty springs as he thought. “You two certainly have been to hell and back. My vote – if I get one – would be for keeping what you’ve found. You’ve more than earned that right.”
Jim and I silently nodded.
“What happened to those convicts?” Tom asked.
Jim snickered. “That is my favorite part! When I handed Allex her gun back, she walked up to the guy without a word, put the barrel to his forehead, and pulled the trigger. Then I had my next in command execute the rest of them.”
Tom stared at me for a long moment. “I understand why you don’t want the family to know about this.”
“I’m exhausted, and we have a lot to do tomorrow. I’m going to bed,” I said, standing.
“Can I ask one last question?” Tom stood also. “Are you two …?”
“Yes,” I said and went inside.
CHAPTER 24
JOURNAL ENTRY: May 18
I slept late. I guess I needed the rest. I got up at nine and took another shower. I need to discuss filling the hot tub with my roommates. Once heated, the small spa wouldn’t take much electricity to stay warm, but the startup drew a lot of power.
~~~
“Good morning,” Jim said when I came up the stairs. “Coffee?”
“Does a fish swim?”
“Sleep well?”
“I did. I was exhausted. How did you sleep?”
“A real bed felt good, but lonely.” He looked at me through the steam off his coffee. “I’m surprised you admitted to our new relationship so quickly, Allex.”
“Why? Is it something to be hidden like we’re ashamed of it?”
“No, of course not. I thought you might want to ease in to it though.”
“Jim, if a relationship needs to be hidden, it’s neither a good nor healthy relationship and should be dissolved. I’m certainly not going to be broadcasting the news, as there are some, like my sons, who would think it was too soon for me to be moving on. Not that I really care what others think as long as we are happy between us. The only ones that matter to me are my family, and some of them might not be completely understanding. Tom, on the other hand, needed to know. Since we all will be living together it would be difficult to hide and I wanted to be up front with him.”
“Do you feel it’s too soon for you to move on?” Jim asked cautiously.
“In another time, another life, perhaps it would be. This is a brutal world we now live in, and relationships are forged quickly. Look at Eric and Rayn. When someone is fighting for their very survival, it’s a common, normal thing to seek out the comfort and companionship they need. To find that in someone I already know and care for is a wonderful, reassuring thing,” I said honestly, reaching for his hand. “So, no, it isn’t too soon for me to move on. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t have.”
“Could it be that you’re grateful to me for rescuing you?” he sadly.
“I’m certainly grateful that you did rescue me, although that whole situation merely brought the feelings into the light for me.”
“That’s very logical, Allex.” He smiled and squeezed my hand, and then stood to refill our cups. “So what is on the agenda for today? Tom went in early to take care of some lingering paperwork so he could take the afternoon off for this shindig you’re planning.”
“The first thing we need to do is tackle the trailer and start bringing some of the wine and liquor inside. We can restock Tom’s bar up here, and the bar downstairs, and most of the wine can be left in the barn until we have help that can use the dolly.” I made some notes on the pad of paper he slid over to me. “Which reminds me, how is your hand feeling? Perhaps you should have Dr. James check it over.”
“I’ll do that. You do know that word is going to spread like wildfire that we’re back, right?” Jim raised his dark eyebrows at me.
“Yes. I’m wondering if we should hold something like a press conference,” I laughed. “Then again, I doubt the town would find our adventures very interesting, and I’m certainly not going to share our misadventures.”
“I think we should invite the clergy to this party today,” Jim suggested offhandedly.
“Great idea, that way some of the stories we can share will have another outlet,” I agreed. “I think we need to decide what is kept between us, though. Like the kidnapping and the pretend proposal.”
“Why not share the proposal? It was one of the more amusing things on the trip and it will keep people distracted from what we’re leaving out. I think we should keep it as honest as possible, Allex. We’ll leave out the kidnapping and Point B, and especially Point C, how’s that?” he said with a mischievous grin.
“Okay, I can live with that.” I leaned across the island and gave him a quick kiss. “Time to get busy, Colonel.”
*
We brought in two cases of mixed liquor and two cases of wine, one red, one white, and then divided it up between the upstairs bar and the lower one. I really had no idea where everyone would congregate.
Next we went through the first tub of mixed cans.
“I think some crabmeat salad on crackers would be tasty, and the crab would mask any stalene
ss in the crackers,” I said, setting aside a couple of cans.
“Sharing the crabmeat?”
“There’s another whole case of it, Jim. Remember, this is family and close friends.” I handed him two cans of salmon to put in the box we had already set on the dolly.
“Are you going to make more of those fishy pinwheels? They were really good,” Jim said.
“I think I have enough time to make a batch of tortillas, so yeah, probably. If there isn’t enough time, it’ll be on the crackers.
One of the residents of the wealthy subdivision had thought ahead to buy a case of crackers, not realizing they would all go stale within a year. I remember hearing they could be freshened by heating them for ten minutes in a 350 degree oven. I’d have to try that and see if it worked.
Jim pulled the dolly one-handed into the attached garage, and then I pulled it up the two steps into the house. We unloaded everything onto the kitchen island.
“Why don’t you have your hand looked at while I get started on this? I won’t need any help for hours.”
Jim silently nodded and left. From the cupboards I pulled out bowls and the hand mixer. Over the many years we were friends, I’d gotten to know Kathy’s kitchen almost as well as I knew my own. Of course, now my kitchen is Rayn’s kitchen. I need to talk to Eric about that more.
*
The tortillas were cooling and the two spreads were mixed and chilling. The crackers were set next to the baskets they would occupy. There was very little left to do, so I grabbed a bottle of red wine and went up the hill to visit with the nuns next door.
*
“When we saw the Humvee leave this morning, we were all hoping you had returned!” Sister Agnes said after giving me a welcoming hug. “How was the trip? Did you learn anything new?” she managed to ask before Father Constantine arrived from his quarters. I handed her the wine and turned to the priest. Of all of my new friends, I think I missed Connie the most.
“Allexa! I’m so relieved you’re back,” he said, giving me a bear hug. “Everyone in town has been worried about the two of you.”
“Well, we’re back, safe and sound, more or less.” When they looked concerned I added, “We’re fine, really. In fact, we’re throwing a small welcome home party for ourselves, just family and close friends, and I’d like for you to join us, this afternoon, around three o’clock?” They agreed, and I said “Great. I can’t stay, I have things to get ready.” What I really wanted was a few minutes alone.
*
I found a chair on the lower deck and sat with a glass of water, trying to empty my mind. So much had happened in the last six weeks and I hadn’t had time to absorb it all. I felt like I was still caught up in a whirlwind with my toes – my bruised and broken toes – barely touching the ground. Was moving in here such a good idea? I could have asked for any housing and gotten it. I could have insisted on my home back and Eric would have moved out. I really didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
Being with Jim felt good. I didn’t know yet if it was right or not, but it did feel good. He made me feel safe, and that said a lot to me. I hadn’t felt safe for a very long time. Yet, him telling me that he felt lonely last night without me in his bed put pressure on me I didn’t want. This was something we would have to discuss, and soon.
I sipped my water and watched the chilly blue water of Lake Meade lap at the shore fifty yards away. It was blissfully quiet. Too quiet, I realized. There are no boats on the water, no skiers, no children playing in the sand at the park’s beach. There aren’t even any of the annoying seagulls lofting about, and only one lonely goose. Wait. A goose? I stood for a closer look, almost spilling my water. I suddenly felt a surge of hope that things just might get back to normal for us one day. One day starts with one goose. It wouldn’t be soon, this I knew, maybe not even in my lifetime, but some day it would.
And this was all I needed.
*
At two forty-five, I opened the can of black olives, drained them, and dumped them on the divided tray. I added a jar of green olives, and then some sliced pickles, both dill and sweet. It was a simple condiment tray that was rare food these days.
The crackers were in baskets beside the two dips, and the pinwheels would come out of the fridge when the first guest arrived.
Glasses were lined up above the bar, and the ice bucket was full.
“Table looks good Allex,” Jim said, his hair still glistening from his recent shower. He gazed at me. “May I ask a favor? Would you wear that red dress you had on last night? It looks so good on you and as much as I’ve liked seeing you in BDUs and tight jeans, I really liked seeing you in a dress.”
I could do that for him, for me. I grinned and scurried downstairs to change before anyone arrived.
*
“Mom, you didn’t have to make food for us,” Jason said eying the olives and then popped one into his mouth.
“Enjoy them,” I said when I saw his delighted expression. “They are the only thing that can’t be replaced. If we don’t eat them soon, they’ll go bad.”
Rayn scooped some crab meat onto one of the oval crackers. “You mean there’s more crackers?”
“Some, but we can make saltines, wheat, and cheesy crackers, and graham crackers, too when these run out. We’ll do some baking classes soon.”
I left them at the food table so I could talk with the nuns who had just arrived.
“I’m so happy to see you could make it,” I said to the clergy group.
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Father Constantine replied for all of them. “I must admit that we are all curious about your adventures.”
“We’ll do our best to entertain you,” I laughed. “Sister Agnes, while we were at Sawyer I was given a bag of mail that was destined for Marquette and Moose Creek,” I said. “You four are the ones who know best who is here, so I thought you would be the most logical to sort through it all and deliver it.”
“We would be delighted to,” she replied. “Will there be regular mail?”
“I doubt that, unless we set up a regular run to the base. It’s highly unlikely they will be coming here just to bring mail.” A regular run to Sawyer. Now that was an interesting thought.
*
Everyone had a few bites to eat and with a glass of their chosen drink, they all began to congregate in the large living room, settling into the comfortable leather couches or sitting on the floor. Tom had thoughtfully started a fire in the large fireplace to keep the chill away. A stiff breeze had picked up and the outside air had cooled significantly.
“I’ll be the first to say that it’s good to be home,” I said, looking around at the faces of my family, my friends. Of course Jason, Amanda, and Jacob were here, as well as Eric, Rayn, and Emilee. Ken and Karen stood near the door, ever vigilant, and Joshua stood near the back, trying to stay out of sight. With the nuns and priest, and Art and Clare Collins, it made for eighteen of us, a tight and supportive group.
“So start at the beginning and tell us everything,” Amanda said gleefully.
“Well,” Jim started, “we took the new mining road all the way to Hwy. 41 and it took most of the first day.”
“Now that county road 150 is open, getting to 41 will be easier,” Tom said.
“Open? There was that rock slide, how did you get past it?” I asked.
“Keith Kay brought one of his earth moving bulldozers in from the field. It took him almost a week to move all the boulders, and then a crew to deal with the small stuff, and it’s now open,” Tom informed us. “You could have come home that route if you had known, but of course there was no way to let you know.”
And had we known we wouldn’t have had three extra days sheltered in the mine portal avoiding the electrical storms.
“Anyway, Walstroms had burned and collapsed, and the Shopmore store’s roof caved in, likely from the big quake. There is no way to salvage anything further from either place,” Jim continued. I noticed Tom taking notes.
“We found a house in a nice subdivision to stay in overnight,” I said, “and we stayed for two days, checking out the rest of that neighborhood for anything salvageable.”
“It was our first encounter with bodies,” Jim stated flatly. “A family of four; we put all of them in one room, so they would be at rest together.” The room got very quiet.
“Were there more?” Art asked solemnly.
“The next day we found a murder-suicide in one of the other houses,” I said. “After that, we headed to Sawyer.”
“Why go to Sawyer, Mom?” Jason asked.
“I needed information on the rift and on my troops that went to the Soo,” Jim told him. “That was the main purpose of this trip.”
“What we didn’t expect was they weren’t going to let me, a civilian, onto the base.”
“So I made her a lieutenant,” Jim laughed. “And no one dares question the top ranking officer when I called her that.”
“Do we have to salute you now, Mom?” Eric teased and we all had a good laugh.
“Did you get to see the rift the earthquake caused?” Father Constantine asked.
“First hand,” I said quietly.
Jim put his arm around my shoulders. “She fell in.” That caused quite the stir of questions, which we sidestepped for now.
“The Army Corp of Engineers built two bridges across the rift, which is about five hundred feet across at Superior and varies in width all the way to what was Gladstone. They are in the process of building a concrete and rock dam to stop the flow into Lake Michigan. It’s really quite impressive. We crossed to the other side at the one bridge that’s military guarded,” I went on.
The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) Page 19
