by Mark Goodwin
“Is it expensive? The one on your ankle I mean?”
“About five hundred bucks. You can pay a lot more money for a little bit better gun. Or you can pay a little less for a far-inferior, and much-less-reliable weapon. In my opinion, Glock offers the best value and the highest dependability for the money.”
Ava nodded. “You work in a gun store and both of your weapons are Glocks. I guess that says something.”
“I guess it does.”
“So you can order me a Glock—43 was it?”
“Sure. Should I write you up?”
“Yes, please. Is there a waiting period or anything?”
“Not right now. We’ll run your background check and ring you up. You can pay now, and it should be in by Wednesday, Friday at the latest. You can take it home as soon as it comes in.”
“You said not right now about the waiting period.”
“Who knows what the mayor is gonna do. But even if she passes a mandatory waiting period tomorrow morning, you’d be grandfathered in since you technically bought the gun today.”
“What about bullets?”
“I’ve got hollow points in stock. They’re the best thing to stop an attacker, but they cost a pretty penny. I can ring you up for a couple boxes of hollow points, and order you some full metal jackets. Should be here when you pick up the gun.”
“Okay. Whatever you recommend.”
“Here’s a good holster. You can clip it inside your jeans or put it on a belt if you want to wear it to the range.”
Ava looked over the item. “Give me that, too. And I guess if bullets are in tight supply, I should get three or four hundred.”
The attendant passed her a background-check form and a pen. “I’d make it a hundred rounds of hollow point and 500 rounds of full metal jacket so you have something to train with. That thing won’t do you no good if you don’t learn to use it.
“We offer a basic pistol self-defense class. It’s $75. You can take it right after the CHL on Sunday. There’s an hour break in between, so you can get a bite to eat if you want. It’s only an hour and a half, but you should be able to hit an attacker at close range by the time you’re finished.
“If it’s too much for one day, I can sign you up for the self-defense class on the following Sunday. If you’re tight on cash, you could probably get away with half that amount of ammo, but you should make a priority out of getting more as soon as possible. Things are getting dicey all around the country. Guns and ammo are both getting harder to come by.”
Ava filled out the form. “No. Give me everything now. Sign me and my friend up for the self-defense class also. We’re missing church for this, so we might as well get it all in one day.”
The man turned around and wrote up the individual items. “With two CHL classes, two self-defense training courses, the gun, ammo and holster, your total comes to $1095.”
Ava counted out eleven hundred dollars and placed it on top of the completed form.
“Be right back. Usually takes about fifteen minutes unless they’re backed up. Otherwise, it’ll be finished by the time you come back to pick up your gun.”
“Sure.” Ava checked the time on her phone. “1:25. I guess I should get Buckley next. Maybe I’ll just order a pizza when I get home.”
The man returned in ten minutes. “Here’s your ammo, your holster, your change, and your receipt. Give us a call Wednesday after lunch to see if your pistol came in.”
“Thanks.” Ava stuck the receipt in the bag with the hollow-point ammunition and her holster. “Will I see you at the class Sunday?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m the instructor. Name’s Ben.”
“Great, see you later, Ben.” Ava hustled to her car, feeling much better that she’d put the wheels in motion toward getting a gun and the license to carry it.
Twenty minutes later, Ava walked up the stairs to Stuart Smith’s porch. Woof, woof! Buckley alerted to her presence, but she knocked anyway, because that’s what people do.
“Come on in,” Stuart said.
Ava opened the door. “How do you know I’m not a burglar?”
“Buckley has a different bark for folks he knows and folks he don’t. You’ll get to know the difference.” Stuart rolled his chair into the living room. “Come on in here.”
Ava walked into the small living area made smaller by the array of cardboard moving boxes stacked about in the modest space.
“I know you were expecting a meaner looking dog. I may have been somewhat disingenuous with the ad I put up about Buckley.”
Ava squatted down and petted Buckley. “He’s exactly what I need. The companionship of a friendly dog is more important than the protection of a fierce one. Besides, I’m sure he’ll be a loyal protector as well.”
“You’re right about that. But, I still have something else for you.” Stuart placed a wooden box on top of his coffee table and opened the lid. “The arrangement I’ve always had with Buckley was that if he’d let me know someone was coming in, I’d take care of the intruder myself.”
Ava looked into the box to see a large black pistol with brown grips. “Oh!”
“I’m giving this to you as a bonus. Most folks were looking for a puppy or a purebred. If you hadn’t come along, I don’t know where Buckley would’ve ended up. Between the dog and this here 1911A1, you’ll be the safest girl in Austin. And with the way things are headed, you just might need it.
“This pistol saved my life in Nam. More than once.”
“Thank you very much, but I can’t accept your gun.”
“Oh, one of them hippie types, are you? Well you best have another look around. Them poor folks over at the church sure didn’t see that comin’. You heard about that, didn’t you?”
“I was there. And no, I’m not a hippie type. As a matter of fact, the reason I’m running later than I wanted was because I just bought a gun.”
“What did you get? Let’s see it.”
“They didn’t have anything in stock. It’s supposed to be in on Wednesday.”
“What caliber?”
“Um—9mm, I think.”
“Well that’s fine for scaring off vermin, I reckon, but you need a real gun. This here is a .45. You keep this one by your bedside and carry that little pea shooter with you to the mall.
“Besides, a lot can happen between now and Wednesday.”
Ava laughed. “Thank you, Mr. Smith. But I can’t accept your service weapon. It’s just too big of a gift. You should take it with you.”
Stuart moved the wheels of the chair to turn toward Buckley. “I can’t keep a pistol at the home neither. They’ll kick folks out if they get caught with a gun. Some of ‘em ain’t right in the head there, you know. I suppose it makes sense. Either way, I don’t have to like it, but I’ve still gotta abide by it.”
“Why don’t you give it to your son? I’m sure he’d be honored to have it.”
The old man shook his head. “The matriarch of the cat people don’t want a gun in the house. She’s scared one of the little ones will get a hold of it and shoot one of the cats, I reckon.”
He passed her the gun. “Here. Take hold of it. See how it feels in your hands.”
Ava held the big pistol, keeping her finger away from the trigger and being careful not to point it at Buckley or Mr. Smith. “Heavy.”
“Supposed to be. It’s designed to send a man to judgment.”
Smith’s eyes examined Ava. “You don’t look like you got hurt in all that ruckus over at the church.”
“No, thankfully, my friend and I made it out without a scratch, but her car was firebombed. It was scary. Church was canceled today because of the incident. I don’t know when we’ll be able to go back. When they reopen, it’ll be interesting to see how many people go back.”
“My wife went there for several years. She was always talkin’ about Pastor Rob this and Pastor Rob that. I guess he built that place for the drug addicts, and that home for the little orphan children. Got that big ol’
school goin’. When my wife got sick, seemed like folks from the church was over here all the time. Some of ‘em cleaned the house, brought meals, some of ‘em would just come sit with us.”
“Yeah, I lost my mom last week. Cancer. The Grief Share ministry from Faith Chapel was great. You never went to Faith Chapel?”
“I went for Christmas to make my wife happy. Other than that, I never had time.” Stuart Smith paused for a while. “‘Til she passed. Then I didn’t have nothin’ but time.”
“Did you go then?”
“Naw. But I did get to readin’ her Bible. Her goin’ to that church all the time, it changed her—and for the better. With that and what I saw from them folks comin’ over here, I figured there must be somethin’ to it all.
“I wrote God off when I was in Nam. Didn’t seem like if there was a God, he’d let all that be goin’ on over there.
“Once I got to readin’ that Bible, kinda changed the way I looked at it all. Seems like Nam, and all this awful stuff goin’ on today is more our fault that His. I told Him I was sorry for not believin’ for so long. Wished I’d came around when my wife was still alive. We could have believed together. But I reckon we’ll do that when I get to the other side. Better late than never.”
Ava nodded as she stroked Buckley’s soft fur. “Yeah, better late than never. Maybe they’ll have church service at the place where you’re moving.”
Smith replied, “Maybe so. Either way, I’ll keep reading my wife’s old Bible. I get more out of that than listenin’ to some preacher ramble on all day.”
“I should be going,” Ava said.
Smith nodded. “Alright. You run on in there to my bedroom. There’s two green metal boxes. One of ‘em has a holster and a cleaning kit for the pistol. The other has bullets. You’ll know which one is which ‘cause the bullets is heavy as a dead mule.
“While you’re doin’ that, I’ll say one last goodbye to my old friend here. Then y’all can be on your way.”
Ava’s heart broke for the old man who’d lost so much and now had to give up his only friend. Yet she took comfort knowing that she was giving Buckley a good home. Ava loaded the two green ammo boxes into her car as she’d been instructed.
Afterward, Ava took the wooden box containing the .45 and tucked it under her arm. She took Buckley’s leash. “Come on, boy.”
She let herself out. “Thank you again, Mr. Smith. I really appreciate everything.”
His lip quivered as if he was holding back the floodgates until she’d left. Smith waved. “No, Miss Ava, thank you.”
Ava saw him differently than most men. He’d stayed with his wife through her sickness and remained in his marriage to the end. “‘Til death do us part.” She considered the vow and wondered how many other men like Stuart Smith had kept up their end of the bargain.
CHAPTER 8
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.
Proverbs 12:10
Ava tied her running shoes, then put her heel on the back of the couch for a deep stretch early Friday morning. Buckley came up to her with his leash in his mouth, wagging his tail.
“Good morning, fella. I’ll take you for a quick walk, but then I’ve gotta run. You know the drill.” Ava tried running with Buckley on the Monday and Tuesday after he’d first moved in. But, in that first week, he’d been lethargic, as if he were depressed about being away from Mr. Smith. So, she stuck to a quick walk, then she’d return the dog to her apartment before her daily run.
Ava clipped the leash to his collar and walked out the door. Buckley got nervous when they reached the elevator and began to whine. “Okay, we’ll take the stairs, but you’re going to have to get used to it. It’s been two weeks already. You’ve got to be brave for me.”
Buckley looked up at her and wagged his tail when Ava started toward the stairwell. It was as if he were assuring her that this was the last time they’d need to use the stairs. Buckley took longer to go down the stairs than up. Ava considered it a lesson in patience building.
Once they reached the outside, Buckley sprinted ahead, tugging on the leash. He looked back at Ava as if to ask why she was being so slow.
“Hold on, fella!” She tugged at the leash.
Yet every time Ava allowed the slightest amount of slack in the leash, Buckley ran ahead.
“So you want to try running with me again, I take it.”
Buckley looked back as if to say of course!
“Alright, let’s give it another try.” Ava stepped briskly, eventually breaking into a jog. Still, Buckley stayed ahead of her. When Ava began to run, Buckley went even faster. Ava found her pace and so did Buckley. He maintained an even gait for two miles, then began to slow down. Ava slowed as well. “Not bad for someone who's been stuck in the house all the time. We’ll go slow and work our way up.”
Ava could see that Buckley was thirsty, so she stopped off at the corner market to buy a bottle of water. She poured the water into her cupped palm, allowing Buckley to drink from her hand. “We’ll be more prepared next time. I had no idea you were ready to be my workout partner today!”
She watched Buckley’s breathing and determined to keep the return trip at a slow jog. He was a healthy dog and would get in shape fast if he’d continue running with her each day.
The two athletes returned to the apartment where Ava filled Buckley’s food and water bowls, then took her shower to get ready for work.
Buckley looked up with sad eyes when Ava grabbed her keys.
“I know. I’ll miss you, too. Remember, I lost someone also, so you’re helping me through a rough time the same as I’m helping you. I’ll see you at lunchtime. And since it’s Friday, you might just get a bite of my sandwich.” She gave him one last pat on the head and walked out the door.
Twenty minutes later, Ava walked into the dental office. “Morning!” she said to the girls in the front.
“Good morning,” Charity said. “Dr. Hodge wants everyone to meet up front for a quick meeting before we open.”
“Oh? What about?”
Charity pecked away at the keyboard of her computer. “I don’t know. Something about the stock markets in Asia and Europe.”
“What could that possibly have to do with us?” Ava kept walking to the back and quickly gathered supplies so her exam room would be ready for her first patient. Afterward, she made her way back to the front for the impromptu meeting.
Raquel was there, her eyes bloodshot from the night before.
“You look like heck!” Ava said.
“Allergies,” Raquel smirked.
“Yeah, well you better stand behind me at the meeting so Dr. Hodge doesn’t decide to send you home,” Ava scolded.
“You’ve got to save the weekend for the weekends,” Charity said to Raquel.
“Last night was Thursday. That’s officially the weekend.” Raquel tilted her head back and squirted drops into her red eyes.
“Not according to Dr. Hodge.” Charity typed away on her keyboard.
Linda, the receptionist said, “Here he comes.”
Dr. Hodge walked into the front office area. He was portly, with balding gray hair and a warm smile. “Good morning ladies. This isn’t anything formal, but I did want to take a moment to talk about what’s going on. The Asian stock markets have lost roughly twenty percent of their value today. Europe is on track to do just as poorly. The DAX, CAC, and FTSE are all in free fall.”
“So.” Raquel sat on the corner of Linda’s desk. “We don’t invest in foreign markets. I’m lucky if I can pay rent and buy groceries.”
“Even with the high rate of inflation we’ve been experiencing, you should be able to do a little better than that on a hygienist salary, Raquel.” Dr. Hodge looked closely at Raquel’s eyes but made no comment about the redness.
He continued addressing the staff. “US Markets are down significantly in early morning trading. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll recover once the exchange floors open. Some of you weren’t in the job market
back in 2008 during the housing market crisis, but those who were, remember what it was like. People started losing jobs and it created a domino effect that sent shock waves throughout the economy.
“My advice is for everyone to tighten their belts now. Put a little something aside, hold off on any big purchases, and throttle back your spending. If people start getting laid off, they lose their dental insurance. Then, maintenance cleanings go out the window. They don’t come to us unless they break a tooth or get a toothache.
“I don’t want to let anyone go, especially during tough times, but if business drops off, I’ll have to start cutting hours so everyone can at least work part-time.”
Charity’s brow puckered. “But it’s the stock market. It could bounce right back Monday morning, right?”
“Absolutely, Charity.” The doctor nodded. “If that happens, and it continues to stay strong through the following week, then you can disregard everything I’ve said. But, if this turns out to be what it looks like, you’ll be glad you started making adjustments sooner rather than later.
“I’m going to hang around after work today. If anyone is interested, I’ll go into a little more detail about what I think is happening and what you can do to prepare. I’m a dentist, not an economist, but as most of you know, watching all of this is sort of a hobby for me.
“As your employer, I feel somewhat responsible for your financial well-being. That’s all. You ladies have a great day and don’t let what I’ve said get you down. It’s not the end of the world, but it is something that deserves our attention.” Dr. Hodge waved and returned to his private office in the rear of the building.
Ava turned to Charity. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know what to think. But he said not to get upset.” Charity went back to her work on the computer.
