300 Miles

by P. A. Glaspy

  Aaron scrunched up his face, deep in thought. Finally, he said, "Tell him you're not ready to see him yet. Maybe after Christmas. That'll stall him for a while, so I can figure out how to handle this. Don't tell Mom! She's got enough going on right now. Let's go."

  They went down the stairs as Carly was calling out to them. "Five minutes until the bus gets here and you haven't had breakfast, Cameron. Here, take a couple of these cereal bars and a bottle of juice. You can eat it on the bus." She handed him the cereal bars and opened the refrigerator for the juice. She scanned the many small ready-made bottles and pulled out an apple juice. She handed that to Cameron as well. She turned to Aaron. "You want anything else, honey?"

  Aaron shook his head. "No ma'am, I'm good. We gotta go. Love you, Mom. I've got work after school. Jason will bring me home."

  "I love you, too, both of you. Have a great day. See you tonight, hopefully on time for me!"

  Both boys waved at her as they went out the front door. When they got to the end of the driveway, Aaron turned to Cameron. "If you talk to him again, you remember what I said. Don't tell him we're going to Pap's. Don't commit to seeing him until after Christmas. Don't say a day, just say after Christmas. Understand?"

  Cameron nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry, bro. I didn't think it was a big deal. I mean he's our dad...well, was. I've always wondered what he was like. Haven't you?"

  Aaron continued walking. "Well, like I told you, it is a big deal. And no, I didn't wonder. I knew everything I needed to know about him when he walked out and left us. Just let it go for now, okay?"

  Cameron kicked a rock on the sidewalk. "Sure, Aaron. Whatever you say."

  ~~~~~

  Unaware of the developing drama on the home front, Carly went to work, and, as expected, it was very quiet. Marcus stopped by to tell her he was taking a long lunch with a college buddy who was in town.

  "Depending on how many drinks we have, it could turn into the entire afternoon. You're in charge. You might as well start getting used to picking up my slack." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and grinned at her.

  She laughed and said, "I've been picking up your slack for years. You mean that wasn't part of the job?" She gave him an eyebrow wiggle of her own.

  "Ha! Good one! I'm out. Hold down the fort. Get some more shopping done." He waved at her.

  She waved him away. "Way ahead of you. Be gone. Have fun!" She picked up her cell phone and called her dad. He answered on the first ring.

  "Hey, honey. What's up?"

  "Hey, Dad. I need your help with something. I want to buy Aaron a car for Christmas, his birthday, and honestly early graduation. Can you help me find one?"

  "Wow, Carly, that's a big deal. Are you looking to finance one?"

  "Lord, no! I got a really sweet year-end bonus and I want to use most of it for that."

  "Oh, that's great! How sweet? I mean, not that I need to know your business, but I need to know what price range we're going to be in."

  She laughed. "Dad, it's okay for you to know my business, especially when I ask for your help. I'm hoping we can find something decent for about five thousand dollars. Is that doable?"

  "Nice! Yeah, we should be able to get something decent for that kind of money. I'll start checking on some websites I know of. I'll let you know what I find. How are you gonna do this without him knowing though? If you buy the car, where are you gonna keep it until Christmas?"

  "Elliott asked for the boys to come stay with him next week," she replied. "They'll be there Saturday until Christmas Eve. It's going to work out perfect. Although, I'm a little apprehensive about the reason he wants them this time."

  "What do you mean? He's their grandfather. He wants to spend time with his grandsons. I get that."

  "No, it's not just that, Dad. He wants to teach them to hunt. To shoot a bow and ... guns. Guns, Dad! They're dangerous!"

  Joel sighed. "Now honey, there's nothing to worry about. Guns are only dangerous if you don't know how to use them. Elliott knows what he's doing. Did you know he used to be a firearms instructor when he worked for the sheriff's department?"

  "No, I didn't know that. How do you know it?" she asked incredulously.

  "We talk a lot during the holiday get-togethers, being the two old guys. I've been out to his place a few times, too. He's a good man. Too bad that son of his didn't follow in his footsteps."

  "No shit. Oops, sorry for the potty mouth, Dad. Anyway, if you think they'll be fine I'll try to stop worrying. Let me know what you find on a car. Thanks for your help. I love you, Dad."

  He laughed. "Yes, I think they'll be fine. I love you, too. Talk to you soon. Bye, honey."

  "Bye, Dad." She ended the call and went back to her shopping, smiling in the knowledge that Aaron's gift would be taken care of. She had no doubt her dad would find a good car.

  ~~~~~

  Carly stopped on the way home and got a bucket of chicken with potatoes and gravy, green beans, and biscuits. Thankfully, it was close to their house, because she had skipped lunch and the smell of fried chicken was driving her nuts. By the time she got home, she was salivating so much she reached up to see if she was drooling. Since she had her purse and briefcase as well, she was overloaded. She honked the horn, which is the universal mom message for, "I need help, get out here." Cameron came into the garage, looked in the front seat, and grabbed the food. He turned and started back toward the kitchen.

  "Hi, Mom. How was your day? Do you need me to carry anything else for you?" Carly called after him.

  He turned around with a smirk and replied, "Yeah, what you said. Do you?"

  She shook her head and motioned for him to go on into the house. She grabbed the rest of her things and followed him in. He was already unpacking the food by the time she got in. She dropped her things in a dining room chair and went straight to her bedroom to change. When she was in comfy clothes, she joined Cameron at the breakfast bar. He had already pulled out plates and put spoons in the vegetables. He also had a piece of chicken and a biscuit on each plate. She smiled at him. "You're a pretty good cook, Cam. Thanks for fixing dinner."

  He grinned at her. "Yeah, I got skills. What are you drinking?"

  "A Diet Coke is fine."

  He went to the fridge and pulled out two cans, one diet, one regular. After adding potatoes and beans to their plates, they sat at the bar and ate. Around a mouthful of food, Cameron asked, "Seriously, how was your day, Mom? Quiet like you thought it would be?"

  She nodded and chewed. Swallowing, she answered him. "Very quiet. Enjoyable even. How ‘bout you? How was school?"

  "The same as every day. Boring."

  Carly chuckled. "Do you have homework?"

  He shrugged. "A little. They take it easy on us the week before the holidays."

  "Well, finish it before you do any gaming."

  "I will. We've got a boss raid tonight, so I'm gonna go up and get it done. You want help with the dishes?"

  She shook her head. "Nah, I'll just rinse them off and stick them in the dishwasher. You go ahead."

  Cameron got up and headed for the stairs. He stopped and turned back to his mother. "What are you doing tonight, Mom? TV? Shopping for me?" He waggled his eyebrows up and down with a wicked grin on his face.

  "Nope. I'm curling up with a beer and a good book–well, e-book, on my Kindle. Most of my Christmas shopping is done; just have to wait for the stuff to get here so I can wrap it. I love shopping online. It just makes it so easy."

  Cameron came back to the kitchen where Carly was finishing rinsing their dishes. "You're done? What'd you get me? You got my Santa list, right?"

  Rolling her eyes, Carly replied, "Yes, Cameron, I got your list. You'll have to wait until Christmas to find out if you've been naughty or nice. Get to work, mister."

  Strutting toward the stairs, he said to the room, "Nice. All nice. On a scale of one to nice, ninety-nice. Hahahahaha! I crack myself up. Later, gator!"

  Carly laughed at his antics as she reached into the fridge fo
r an ice-cold bottle of beer. Twisting the top off and tossing it into the metal recycle bin, she took a long pull, closed her eyes, and relished the tang of the hops on her lips. She walked slowly toward her bedroom, through the darkened living room lit only by the lights of the tree. She loved that look. It made everything seem so ... Christmasy. She grabbed her Kindle and went back to the living room. I'll read by twinkle lights. That thought made her smile.

  ~~~~~

  The senior officers of the North Korean military were all in attendance. Every branch was represented. The Chairman stood, causing the murmuring among the staff to cease at once. He looked over those present in the room and addressed them.

  "Is there anyone here who did not receive the memo sent yesterday?" Silence. "Good. Then you are all aware of our plan to bring the United States to its knees. To make them understand what it is to not have their nice homes and cars. To watch them try to survive without the modern conveniences they have in abundance. To see them driven so low they will kill each other for food, water, shelter, all the things necessary for survival they take for granted. We will see all this and more in just a few more days."

  One of the generals raised a hand. When the Chairman acknowledged him, he asked a question. "How will we achieve all of this, Your Excellency?"

  The Chairman smiled. "With one nuclear warhead, detonated high above the center of their country, three hundred miles over the state of Kansas, the center of their land. The blast will create an electromagnetic pulse that will wipe out all of their electronics, all of their new cars, all of their power plants, everything run by computers–everything they rely on for their daily lives. They will immediately become a third world country, with no electricity and no running water, with only old cars able to run. One bomb will destroy their infrastructure which will in turn destroy their country. And we don't even have to leave our homes to do it. This will be a victory for us, comrades. A victory for every independent nation the evil Americans have tried to control with their sanctions and their threats."

  The same general replied, "When will this happen, Excellency? The message said their Christmas holiday would be interrupted. Will it be then?"

  The Chairman smiled again. "No, we want to disrupt everything before that. We will send the missile early Monday evening. That will be the middle of the night for them. Most of the people won't even know what happened until they rise without their morning coffee brewing automatically. Even then, they won't understand what has happened until it is too late."

  Another senior officer, a Navy admiral, spoke up. "How will we get the weapon past their radar? If they shoot it down before it detonates..."

  The Chairman clapped his hands together and laughed. "I was hoping one of you was smart enough to figure that part might be a problem. Along with our weapon's range increased secretly, we have also been able to acquire stealth technology from an ally. They will not know about the bomb until it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the United States. Then, it won't matter. The warhead will detonate, and their lives will change in that moment. We have waited a long time for our revenge on the West, comrades. The time has come."

  A different Army general interjected, "Will we invade then, Excellency? Will we send our troops to America?"

  The Chairman shook his head. "No, we won't invade, at least not for a while. We will sit back and watch them devour and destroy each other first. Whoever or whatever is left in six months, maybe even a year, we should be able to easily overthrow and control. Are there any other questions?"

  The room grew quiet again. A few men looked at each other, but none spoke. The Chairman stood at attention. "I will personally be handling all aspects of the launch, but I want all of you in attendance to witness this historic event and major coup for our country. I should not have to tell you, but do not discuss this with anyone. Be here Monday morning ready to spend the day watching the preparations for our attack. Dinner will be served in the palace afterward to celebrate our victory."

  The officers executed a group bow which the Chairman returned. He walked out of the room, leaving the men to talk amongst themselves again.

  "So, this is it? We will finally attack the United States?" asked the admiral of the general who had asked the most questions.

  "It would appear that is the case."

  "Will it be as easy as His Excellency says? And with no loss of life?"

  The general looked him in the eye. "No loss of Korean life–unless they live in America."

  Chapter 4

  Wednesday, December 16th

  Carly took a long lunch so that she could meet her dad in Cordova to look at a car for Aaron. It was a 2002 Honda Civic hatchback, with just under a hundred thousand miles on it. Carly was concerned about the age of the car. Fifteen years is old in car years, especially when you aren't a mechanic, nor personally know one. But the mileage was great and the pics they saw online looked awesome. Plus, the price was right–four thousand dollars. Joel had negotiated the owner down from forty-five hundred.

  When she arrived, her dad was already there with the owner, car running, hood up, with both of them under it. From the look of him, the owner was about the same age as her dad. She parked on the street and walked up the driveway to where the men were. The tapping of the heels of her slick-soled loafers got their attention. Her dad smiled at her and took a few steps to meet her as the owner reached in, turned off the ignition, and pulled out the keys.

  "Hi, honey. This is Mike Ellis. Mike, this is my daughter, Carly Marshall."

  They shook hands. "Very pleased to meet you, Mike."

  "You, too, Carly. Well, Joel, what do you think? Wanna take her for a test drive?" He held the keys out to Joel. He took them and looked at Carly.

  "You wanna drive it, honey?"

  She shook her head. "No, Dad, I want you to, so you can check everything out. I'll ride along though." She turned to Mike. "Mike, do I need to give you my keys to hold for a security deposit while we take it for a spin?"

  He looked at her 2013 Ford Explorer and at Joel's 2015 Dodge Ram. He laughed and said, "I don't reckon y'all are gonna steal that little Honda over the nice rides you got there. Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back."

  She smiled, dropped her keys in her purse and got in the passenger side as Joel got behind the wheel. He turned the key on, then off, then back on again. He put the car in reverse and listened for anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, he backed out into the road and headed down the street.

  According to Joel, the car was well worth the money they paid for it. It had a few cosmetic blemishes–scratches, dings, and a tear in the carpet in the back–but all in all it was a good, solid car. Mike was more than happy to keep it at his house until they could come back Saturday afternoon to pick it up. Carly was excited about giving the car to Aaron and had decided to use the extra thousand dollars to buy Cameron a really nice gaming computer. Well, as nice as she could get for a grand. When she got back to the office, she went looking for one online. Everything she found that looked decent was going to be two weeks before it would be delivered; definitely after Christmas. Sighing, she went ahead and placed the order and printed the page. She was pretty sure that a description inside a card would be enough to hold him until it got there.

  She was very happy with all she had done with her bonus. She was even able to put a couple of thousand dollars into her money market account. That account now held over fifty thousand dollars and was linked electronically to her checking account which usually had a balance of at least ten thousand dollars. Carly was confident that the money in both accounts would get them through most any situation that came up. Her house and car payments were both set up on automatic monthly withdrawals, and her car was almost paid off. She had about fifteen thousand dollars in credit card debt, all of which were also set up on automatic monthly payments. She felt like her finances were in pretty good shape. She had been daydreaming about what her salary and bonuses would be as a partner. It was a really nice dream.
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  Aaron worked as a busboy as Dominico's Italian Restaurant, just a few miles away from their house in Wolfchase Galleria. Consequently, his family got a great discount when they ate there. He was working that night, so Carly stopped by on her way home to say hi and grab some supper for her and Cameron. Aaron would be fed while he was at work. The owners, Angie Dominico and her husband Tony, were good, hardworking people, who gave back to the community whenever they could, including sending any leftovers to the homeless mission downtown each evening. Angie's face broke out in a huge grin when Carly walked through the door.

  "Carly! It's been so long! I thought you didn't like our cooking anymore." She pulled her into a big Italian hug.

  Carly returned the hug, then leaned back and raised an eyebrow at her. "Angie, I was just here last week. I'm in here almost every week."

  Angie motioned to the bartender, Elena, who handed Carly a glass of water. Elena was also the Dominicos' daughter. Angie put her hands on her ample hips. "Well, it seems longer than that. Maybe you should come in twice a week."

  Carly laughed. "Angie, if I ate here anymore than I already do, you'd have to widen the doors, so I could get my big pasta-eating butt through them. Carbs go straight to my ass." She took a sip of the water.

  Angie took a step back and turned in a slow circle, hips swaying side to side. "And what's wrong with that? Men like a woman with ... how do the young people say it ... junk in the trunk?"

  Carly choked and spit water on the bar. Angie pounded her on the back. Elena laughed and cleaned up the mess. When Carly caught her breath, she replied, "You trying to kill me, Angie? Where do you come up with this stuff? You're crazy, woman!"

  Angie snickered. "This is why my Tony loves me. I make him laugh, too. Sometimes choke, but mostly laugh. I'll bring you two specials with extra bread, so you can start packing your trunk." She turned and headed for the kitchen. Elena hadn't stopped laughing. Carly joined her.