Chapter Five
As monumental as it was for me it was merely the beginning of a week from which my time has been measured for the rest of my life. Marissa and I hadn’t made much progress in her room when Jennifer banged on the door scaring all of us. As soon as Maritza opened the door she began shouting, “They’ve contacted the government!”
“Whoa, Jennifer,” I said. What government, who contacted what government?”
Maritza tried to get her to sit but she wouldn’t saying, “Jack you need to come over to the lab. We’ve got them on the radio.”
“You’ve got who on the radio?” I asked putting on my coat.
“The United States government.”
“What United States government?”
“The people we’ve been talking to claim to be the United States government.”
“Where do they claim to be?”
“Tegucigalpa in Honduras. They say that they’ve, for all practical purposes taken over most of central America since most of our population has occupied it and the northern half of South America.”
“You’re kidding.”
“That’s what he said.”
“They contacted us, or we contacted them?”
Thinking for a second she said, “I don’t know you’d have to ask Tina.”
“Tina?”
“She’s been talking to them so far.”
“Why then do you need me?”
“They asked for the person in charge.”
“And Tina said that was me?”
“Everybody said it was you. Tina said she was sending for you and they said they’d stay on until you could get there to talk to them.”
I looked over at Maritza. Marissa was standing next to her and they both had grins on their faces. “Go on,” Maritza said, “they’re waiting for you. You can tell us about it when you get back. Go now.”
I got up and led Jennifer out the door, over to the lab and up all four flights of stairs to observation deck.
“It’s about time, where the hell have you been?” Tina said and then turned to the microphone in front of her.
“There’s a lot of stairs between your place and mine.”
“This is climate base to US station one. This is climate base to US station one, over.”
“Climate base, this is US station one. Is Mr. Smith there now?”
“Yes he is, over.”
“Mr. Smith this is William Beaumont calling. I am assistant secretary for science and technology in the US government in exile, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.”
“Mr. Beaumont, this is Jack Smith. What can I do for you?”
“I and my associates have been speaking with your climatologist (I looked over at Tina and then back out the window) and she tells me that you are the leader of your community there. Is this true?”
“If she says so. Mr. Beaumont I’d appreciate it if you’d call me Jack. Everybody here does.”
“Only if you’ll call me Bill, Jack.”
“That I can do. What else can we do for you Bill?”
“It’s not so much what you can do for us, as it is what we can do for you.”
“Do for us?”
“From what your climatologist has told us your community is something of a scientific enterprise, yes?”
“Yes it is. We are lucky to have gathered a few very high skilled people, who for reasons that are their own chose to stay here and fight this new climate.”
“That is exactly what we had hoped.”
“Why is that?”
“We here would very much like to have access to the data you are collecting. We have facilities here for its analysis.”
“That’s all you want? It has always been our goal to do exactly that.”
“If you think it’s feasible we’d like to support your efforts there.”
“You’re a long way from here, Bill.”
“Distance is not a problem, Jack. I have three transports being loaded as we speak with equipment and supplies for your team. To this point we have loaded the generators, radio equipment, computers and scientific equipment requested by your climatologist. What else can we send you?”
“Food is our greatest need. We have twenty two mouths to feed and scavenging the countryside is becoming less and less productive.”
“We assumed that might be the case. I will have the other two transports loaded with foodstuffs and get them in the air first thing in the morning. Do you have truck transport available to you?”
“Outside three pickup trucks, no sir.”
“That’s clear. We can airdrop your supplies if you’d rather that modality be used.”
“We are adjacent to the former campus golf course.”
“I will inform transport of this. We will contact you tomorrow when the transports are in the air. They will contact you on this frequency tomorrow when they are one hour out.”
“Roger that. It goes without saying that we appreciate your assistance.”
“In the bigger picture it may be that we here in the south are the greater beneficiaries of your sacrifice in staying where you are. And I have to say that I am looking forward to your installation of satellite communications.”
“We look forward to it sir. Is there anything else?”
“Your climatologist said that you have your own electrical engineer is she available?”
“She’s right here sir. Her name is Jennifer, and she’s the genius that has made this conversation possible.”
I could here laughter on the connection as I handed the microphone to Jennifer. She mouthed the words Now you’ve got him thinking I’m some kind of genius you turd. But she was smiling when she said it. As she started speaking I turned to April and said, “April will you please spread the word that we will all need to pitch in tomorrow morning to bring in the supplies?”
“I can’t wait to. Everyone will be very excited. What time?”
“I have no idea, maybe we should all just get up early and stay ready. If those planes take off early in the morning, I can’t imagine them getting here before noon, but who knows? We’ll know better in the morning when they let us know they’ve left. We can find out the ETA then.”
“Makes sense. You goin back home?”
“In a minute. I have one more question to ask Mr. Beaumont.”
Jennifer stopped speaking and looked over her shoulder.
“Hold on Bill, Jack has another question.”
“Yes Jack?”
“Bill, because we’ll be moving the supplies by hand is it possible that you could limit their individual blocks to what two people can lift?”
“Hold on.”
Jennifer said, “Good idea, they’d have dropped half ton cargo boxes for sure.”
“Jack?”
“Yes, Bill.”
“That won’t be a problem with the food or most of the equipment, but there are a few pieces of equipment that cannot be broken down to subassemblies that small.”
“Okay, how about sending along something that will help us pickup and move heavy cargo over a golf course?”
“We’ll have to work on that. I’m sure we can send along something to help you out with that.”
“One more thing Bill, we could use fuel, gas, diesel, kerosene and lamp oil.”
“We’d already included the gas and diesel. The other fuels won’t be too much of a problem. That all?”
“I think so. I haven’t had too much time to work out our current logistical situation.”
Tine and Jennifer both raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
“Would it be possible for you to include a couple personal items?”
“If possible.”
“I’d love some cigars, and there are many here who’d kill for a cigarette that wasn’t a couple years old.”
“Don’t forget that we’ll be sending regular supply runs going forward.”
“Thank you sir. I’ll be much more prepared for the next run.” I said handing the mic back to Jennifer. April was already gone so I grabbed my coat and headed for the door.
Tina blocked my way. “You did okay.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s the family?”
“Maritza and Marissa are fine. How are you doing?”
“I’ll be doing better once we get all the equipment I asked for up and running.”
“You’re the reason they’re interested in us at all.”
“I doubt it. If I wasn’t here they’ve sent a climatologist.”
“You know that never crossed my mind.”
“That’s because you’re not the climatologist with no name. Did you notice that he called you and Jennifer by name but kept referring to me as the climatologist?”
“That’s not what I meant. It never occurred to me that they’d send someone here in addition to the stuff they’re sending along.”
“Would that be a problem?”
“Nothing’s free. Hold on a second.”
I walked back to the radio and saw that Jennifer was still talking.
“Jennifer?” I said holding my hand out for the mic.
“Bill can I ask you one more question?”
“Certainly.”
“Are you planning to send any personnel along with the supplies?”
“Of course. You will be needing technicians to support our equipment.”
“Mr. Beaumont I hope you will believe me when I say that all we need are the necessary tools and manuals to support the equipment. No additional personnel are requested or desired here.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m not sure we can risk a million or more dollars of highly technical equipment without sending along the personnel needed to support it.”
“Mr. Beaumont if you change your mind in the future and do need our data, please contact us on this frequency and our community of highly educated and trained research one university technicians and professors are at your service.”
Silence.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing? What the hell difference…”
“Mr. Smith, Mr. Beaumont here.”
“Yes sir,” I said smiling.
“Please be prepared to receive transmission on this frequency in two hours. Do you have clocks there?”
“Yes sir, on our computers.”
“We will contact you no later than 2:15pm your time. Is that clear?”
“It’s clear sir. We’ll be here. Out.
“US station one out.”
That was it then. We had two hours to wait.
“Like I was saying,” Tina continued, “what possible difference does it make if they want to send a couple technicians?”
“Materiel and food is one thing. They’ll make life a little easier, and somewhat more interesting. Sending people here compromises the dynamic of what has, up till now, naturally evolved into a community of people.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a couple government people coming in here messin this place beyond all recognition.’
“How the hell do know that’s what they’d do?” Tina was yelling now. Everybody was staring at her.
“Tina, governments control. That’s why they exist. I don’t feel the need to be controlled.”
“What you mean to say is that you don’t want anybody else in control here, other than you of course.”
“Tina,” Jennifer said. “I’ve got to go with Jack on this one.”
“Maybe we ought to take a vote,” Tina said, her voice returning to normal.
“Mr. Beaumont is going to call us back in less than two hours. We’ll have to have an answer before then,” Frank said pointing to the radio.
“I tell you what,” I said, “April’s already going around telling people about tomorrow. I’ll go find her and we’ll get everybody to meet at my house in half an hour. We’ll have some coffee, talk it out and have a vote. Okay?”
Nods all around.
Frank looked at Jennifer and then said, “Jack, we’ll stay here. You have our vote for what it’s worth.”
“Jennifer?”
“You heard the man. We need to do a little work on this radio before we need it again.”
“Okay.”
“Jack, I’m gonna come with you.”
“Suit yourself,” I said putting my coat on and heading out.
We went from door to door, catching up to April at the third door. Twenty minutes later it was clear there was no reason for a meeting. Everyone we talked to said that if I thought it was best they were willing to go along with my condition. Everyone but Tina had a tangible distrust for anything to do with the government. Their reasons were their own.
“I guess I can assume that Maritza will vote with you,” Tina said stopping at the front door to the lab.
“I don’t know, she has a mind of her own. Either way just about everyone here doesn’t seem to find the idea of the government sending people here to be a good one.”
“And here I thought you were just trying to make me out to be the bad guy.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why would I want to do that? Better yet why is it that of all the people here you’re the only one who thinks it’s a good idea?”
“You wouldn’t understand Jack, forget it,” she said turning the doorknob.
I grabbed her sleeve and said, “You know Tina if you’d relax a little you’d be surprised how many friends you had you didn’t know about.”
She jerked her sleeve from my hand and said without turning around, “Sure Jack, whatever you say,” before she disappeared through the door.
I jogged over to the house and sprinted up the stairs.
“What happened?” Maritza said.
I described the last hour and a half as quickly as I could and explained I had to get back in a few minutes.
“So you really told this assistant secretary that you weren’t going to have him sending his people but he could go ahead and send his million dollars worth of equipment and food anyway, you really told him that?”
“I did, do you think I screwed up?”
“You’re asking me this?”
“I want to know what you think.”
“Everybody but Tina already said that they agreed with you.”
“Maritza, I need to know what you think.”
“Jack, I think you did the right thing. There’s no way those people would come in here and just fix things if they broke. They’d be trying to fix this place like they thought it should be or how they were told it should be working. More importantly their motivation would be to get from us what we need. Our current leader’s greatest concern is for the welfare of the people who live here and what’s best for them. This is what I think.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s important to me that you asked me what I think. No go back over there. We’ll have dinner ready for you when you get back.”
“I think I’m gonna need a pot or two of coffee. I won’t be sleeping too much tonight.”
“Neither will I then.”
“I love you.”
She stood there for a moment and then said, “That’s the first time you’ve told me.”
“I do.”
“I love you too, Jack. Since the first time I saw you I knew. Now go, you can’t be late.”
I leaned over and kissed her. She pulled my head back and kissed me again whispering, “I love you too as she pulled back.
“Now go,” she said pushing me towards the door.
When I got there Mr. Beaumont was already on the radio talking to Jennifer.
“He’s here Mr. Beaumont,” she said handing the mic to me.
“Mr. Smith, Bill Beaumont here.”
“Good to hear from you again sir.”
“I have spoken to my people here and we have no problem sending along what you have requested at this time. We are also sending along all necessary support and maintenance documentation, resources, and tools you could possibly need.”
“Thank you Bill,” I said, “so we can expect a call in the morning when the aircraft are airborne.”
“There will be no need. The aircraft will be airborne at approximately midnight and should be at your location approximately one hour after sunrise. You can expect a call from the mission at approximately six am your time to confirm a final arrival time. Is that clear?”
“That’s clear, sir. Is there anything we need to do to be prepared on our end?”
“Have your people ready to collect what we drop. We will be sending along a forklift vehicle to assist you. We have also scheduled a second drop seventy two hours after the first that will be comprised entirely of food. It has been decided that ensuring your food supply through the winter is of the utmost importance.”
“We very much appreciate that sir. More than you can know.”
“Your group is very unique amongst the twenty of so that we have been able to contact thus far. Yours is the only one that seems to have all the required personnel and to spare. Because of your success we will be sending out teams to investigate other locations that have had major university campuses in the past.”
“You’ll be sending these personnel here sir?” I asked fearing the answer.
“No sir. We will be creating and sending out overland two dozen teams to determine whether or not there are other groups extant such as yours who currently do not have access to radio or other communications.”
“Jack you wouldn’t have a list of the names of your personnel handy would you? We’ve had quite of few requests since word has gotten out that we’ve contacted a new group.”
“One moment sir.” I let go of the key to the mike. “Folks I need a list of all first and last names and approximate ages as quick as you can.”
Two minutes later I’d read and spelled all the names as well as I could and we were done.
“Do you really think anything’ll come of them putting out our names?” Frank asked.
“I hope so,” Tina said, “I’d love to know for sure if my folks made it down there all right.
“I’m not sure that was the main purpose of getting our names,” I said looking at the snow blowing past the window past tops of the trees.
“Shit, here we go with the governmental paranoia again,” Tina said getting up to leave the lab.
Ignoring her I continued, “I believe the main reason they wanted the names was to allow them to run checks on us to see if we really are qualified to run this station for them.”
Nods all around, even Tina seemed to agree.
“So you don’t think we’ve heard the last of Mr. Beaumont wanting to send his people in here,” Jennifer said shutting down the radio.
“I doubt it but that, as they say, is a problem for another day. I’ll just be glad when we get both these shipments we’ve been promised and nobody walks out from under any of the parachutes.”
“I hear that,” Frank said shaking my hand on his way out.
“I’ll see you all about six okay. Pass the word?”
“We’ll want to bring every truck and wagon right?”
“Everything we can haul boxes in.”
“Frank, do you have any firearms at your place?”
“Sure, why?”
“When these parachutes start drifting toward the ground anybody and everybody else living for thirty miles will be coming to see what’s going on.”
“You think there’ll be trouble?”
“I hope not, but I’d rather be ready and nothing happen than the reverse.”
“I’ll pass the word around about being prepared, too.”
“Thank you sir.”
Well, what did he say?” Marissa asked as soon as I was inside the door.
“Marissa, let Jack get his coat off.”
“It’s okay, everything went very well as long as what Mr. Beaumont said is true.”
“So he’s still sending supplies tomorrow?” Maritza set a cup of coffee on the kitchen table and patted the table. I walked over, sat down and took a sip. “He is sending supplies tomorrow along with some kind of forklift to help us load the stuff. He’s also sending an all food shipment on Saturday that he said would be enough to get us through the winter.”
“So not only did you keep him from sending people, he’s sending enough food for the whole winter?”
“It was his idea.”
“I doubt that, he just knew that you weren’t a man to be taken lightly.”
I had to smile.
“What? It’s true.”
“I am very proud of you,” Marissa said putting a bowl of stew in front of me. “You haven’t eaten anything all day so eat up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“What’s tomorrow’s schedule?” Maritza said sitting across from me with a cup of coffee.
“Well Mr. Beaumont said that the planes should get here about one hour after sunrise.”
“That’s about eight or so.”
“That’s the way I calculated it. One of the pilots is going to call us on the radio when they’re an hour out. We can leave here about a half hour after that and go to the golf course. I hope Jennifer told them to drop it in the South east corner.”
“If she didn’t you can always tell them in the morning when they call. When you get done eating we need you to get you to bed, there’s going to be a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“Which we cannot stop until we are finished. I don’t even have any idea where we can put six plane loads of supplies.”
“We’ve got twelve hundred feet of space downstairs, three floors of the lab, and any number of empty houses around here we can use for storage,” Maritza said.
“Well there’s nothing to worry about then,” I said between bites.
“I’ll take care getting the food stored. All the equipment will be going in the lab. Next year we’ll have time to build a warehouse facility.”
“Marissa can I have another bowl?” I said holding it out to her.
“Yes you sure can.”
On her way over to the stove she said, “Jack can I ask you a question?”
“Any time.”
Walking back she said, “Would it be okay if called you dad?”
I looked up into her eyes as she stood over me. She looked anxious, and a little scared. I stood up and hugged her as tightly as I dared. “It would be the greatest honor of my life to be your dad.” And then she cried, and Maritza cried, and hell I cried. We all ended up hugging each other for the longest time.
“Ladies I am absolutely stuffed, I’m going out for some air.”
“Where are you going?” Maritza said.
“Nowhere, just drive around with the window open for a while. I need to scout out some houses to use for storage and take a look at the ground over on the golf course. It’s only a couple hours till dark, I’ll be back by then okay?”
“Dad, lemme put the rest of the coffee in your thermos before you go.”
“Thank you daughter.”
She had the biggest smile on her face when she handed me the thermos.
“Be careful daddy.”
“I’ll always come home to my girls.”
“You better,” she said squeezing my hand.
“I will.”
Taking in the houses in the neighborhood and driving around the golf course only took about twenty minutes. I was lucky I didn’t get stuck in a sand trap I didn’t see under the snow. I took off down Texas heading for my actual objective for the trip a jewelry store I remembered and sure enough it was still there. I had to smash the door to get in and half expected the alarm to go off. Of course it didn’t but also of course there was no jewelry to be found anywhere, way too easy to transport. What I wanted was to find Maritza a ring. We were about as married as two people could get and she more than any other woman I’d ever met deserved a ring.
I went outside, sat in the truck and racked my brain where I could possibly find a ring. I figured I might as well search a few more stores while I was waiting for an idea. I broke into six more stores and found the same nothing in each one. In half of them the doors of the safes were still open which made me wonder why the others had been still locked. I had half a plan to blow those safes when I had a better idea. It occurred to me that most people keep their computer passwords on a note taped within eighteen inches of their computer so I went back to the store I was in first and started searching the sides and back of the safe, nothing. I searched the desk in the office, the bottoms of the drawers, underneath the slide out, outside the desk under the desk, damn, still nothing. Then I walked back to the truck and got my flashlight and got down on the floor and looked under the safe and there it was. I got a broom and swiped at the dust until I could run my fingertips against the steel surface. I could feel three numbers scratched into the paint. It took two dozen tries before I got the number right; before the handle turned. I actually held my breath as I pointed the flashlight inside.
Money, all there was, was goddamn money. Worthless, not even good for toilet paper. I pulled it out anyway figuring Maritza and Marissa would get a kick out of using it to start fires. I filled two paper bags with the stuff, there must’ve been at least a million dollars in cash. My jeweler friend must’ve known that paper money wouldn’t be worth much where he was going. Ergo leaving the safe locked, old habits die hard.
I reached to the back of all the compartments to make sure I had all the money and felt something at the back of one of the cubby holes, it was stuck. I got my fingers wrapped around it and pulled whatever it was tore and I heard a metallic sound. When I pulled my hand out I had half a black velvet bag in my hand. I stuck my back in and, palm down pulled out what had fallen out of the bag. I caught them in my hand as each one fell from the cubby hole. And there they were. Six diamond rings all of which had a single large diamond set in what was either white gold or platinum. One of the rings had two blue stones, one on each side of the diamond.
I searched the drawers behind the main sales counter until I found ring boxes. I got two and put Maritza’s ring in one and the other five rings in the other one; grabbed my flashlight and rushed outside. It was dark, real dark. Maritza was gonna be madder than hell at me being gone so long.
It only took five minutes to get back to the house but it seemed like forever.
“Ladies, I’m home. Sorry I’m late.”
“Jack,” Maritza said running across the room, “I was so worried, you said you would be back by dark and that was two hours ago. I was about to go get Frank to help me go find you I was so sure something had happened to you.”
“I’m so sorry Maritza, I got caught up in something and I lost all track of time.”
“What possibly could have been so important that you lost track of time for two hours?”
All I could do was reach into my pocket, pull out the box and hand it to her.
The anger left her face as she said, “Jack what is this?”
“Now that we’re a family I wanted to give you a ring, I want you to feel like my wife, and if that’s what you wanted, and if it was I wanted everyone to know.”
“Jack are you proposing marriage to me?”
“Very, very badly, but yes I think I am.”
“Well here,” she said handing me back the unopened box, “do it correctly please.”
I took the box back and was about to get down on my knee when I stopped and asked, “Where is Marissa?”
“She’s in her room. Would you like her to be here for this?”
“I’d like to ask her if it’s okay before I ask you if that’s okay with you I mean.”
“I think that would mean a great deal to her. Go get her.”
I knocked on her door and went in when she said come in.
“Did you just get back?”
“Yes I did, it took me longer than I thought it would to find what I was looking for.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Marissa for a while now I have found that I love your mom very much.”
“I know. She’s very happy. She’s told me she loves you very much too.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have decided to ask your mom to be my wife.”
“Could you two be more married than you are now?”
“I just want to your mom to know how much I love and respect her, and for me that means asking her to marry me and giving her a ring.”
“That’s what you went out to get a ring for my mom?”
“Yes but before I actually asked your mom, I wanted to ask you if you were all right with your mom and me making it official.”
“Of course,” she said hugging my neck and kissing my cheek. “Go, hurry up she’s waiting for you. Go on.”
“Thanks baby,” I said.
“Love you too, dad.”
Everything was picked up in the kitchen, which let me know that there was only one other place Maritza could be. I thought for a second about knocking on the door of the bedroom before I just went ahead and went in.
She was sitting at her vanity wearing a white negligee that was all but see through. I just stood there staring.
“Jack would you please brush my hair for me?”
I remembered with a start that I still had the ring box in my hand. “Okay.”
“I laid you out some pajamas on the bed go ahead and change into them. I want to see how you look in them.”
“Okay.” It was warm in the room. I looked over at the stove and the door was a dark cherry red around the edges. I walked around the far side of the bed and changed as quickly as I could. I wished I could’ve taken a bath but there was no time now. She handed me her brush over her shoulder when I’d walked up behind her.
“Maritza, I’ve got something I’d like to ask you.”
“As soon as you get finished.”
Concentrating on the task at hand was very difficult with such a beautiful woman in front of me all but naked. But it was the film of the negligee that heightened the sensation for me. I’d never seen such a thing before.
“Let’s see,” she said reaching around to grab the mass of black curls from my hand smoothing them with her hand.
“I might just have to give you this job permanently; you do a very fine job. Help me up on the bed would you?”
“Of course.” I held out a hand and helped her up into the bed where she sat on the edge. I couldn’t take my eyes away. She reached out a hand, grabbed my chin and lifted my face up to look at hers.
“See anything you like?”
I could not make my mouth work to say a word. I was completely captured by the way she looked at that moment. She shook my chin back and forth a little and said, “Did you say you had a question to ask me?”
I snapped back and saw her looking at me with her dark eyes. I reached behind her and grabbed the box. Getting down on one knee put me in the wrong position to be able to concentrate enough to ask Maritza what I needed to ask her.
Again she reached down to get my full attention. “Yes?”
“Maritza, I hope you know how very much I love you. I hope you also know that I want you and I to spend every remaining day that we have together. I know that together we can face anything that even life as it is now can send our way. God has blessed me greatly bring us together, and I would be more honored than any man has a right to be if you would marry me.” I opened the box and held it up to her and waited for her answer.
She drew a breath that let me know that she was impressed with the ring. “Jack come up her and get in bed with me.”
Not the answer I was hoping for. I did though, after blowing out the lamps. The woodstove was even brighter in the dark that descended on the room making red dancing lights on the walls.
“Jack, I love you so much that it scares me sometimes. I never thought I’d find a man like you who would love me so completely, so unconditionally. You love my daughter I think as much as you love me. I feel your love for her as strongly as I feel your love for me.”
She took my hand and placed it on her chest.
“Can you feel my heart beating Jack?”
“Yes, Maritza I can. Your heart beat put me to sleep last night.”
In the fire light I could see big tears welling up and running down Maritza’s face.
“Thank you Jack.”
“For?”
“Everything you’ve done for me, for your love for me and Marissa, for protecting us, for providing for us, for making us laugh, for making us feel safe and at home.
“That goes both ways you know.”
“I know, that’s why my answer is yes, of course I’ll marry you. Someday I hope we can find a priest, until then we are married before God. I am honored to be your wife.”
I put the ring on her finger and, of course, it was way too big.
She laughed and said, I knew it would be. Wait.” She dropped down out of bed and went across the room to her vanity. Even in the dark it was a sight that is carved forever in my memory. She was back in a couple minutes with yarn wrapped around the inside. “See?”
“I can fix that tomorrow.”
“You won’t have time tomorrow; we’ll all be very busy.”
“The next day then. It won’t be a perfect repair, but I can make it fit.”
“I have faith that you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to.”
“I was able to find five more rings; I can remove the diamonds and use the platinum to make you a wedding band if you’d like one.”
“I have my mother’s wedding band that I’d like to wear.”
“That would be perfect.”
She held up the ring and looked at it in the dark trying to catch the tiny bit of light in the room. She then sat up and started pulling her negligee over her head and I stopped her.
“Please don’t. I have never seen anything half as beautiful in my life as you in that, whatever it is.”
“I though you might like it,” were the last words either of us said that night.
As monumental as it was for me it was merely the beginning of a week from which my time has been measured for the rest of my life. Marissa and I hadn’t made much progress in her room when Jennifer banged on the door scaring all of us. As soon as Maritza opened the door she began shouting, “They’ve contacted the government!”
“Whoa, Jennifer,” I said. What government, who contacted what government?”
Maritza tried to get her to sit but she wouldn’t saying, “Jack you need to come over to the lab. We’ve got them on the radio.”
“You’ve got who on the radio?” I asked putting on my coat.
“The United States government.”
“What United States government?”
“The people we’ve been talking to claim to be the United States government.”
“Where do they claim to be?”
“Tegucigalpa in Honduras. They say that they’ve, for all practical purposes taken over most of central America since most of our population has occupied it and the northern half of South America.”
“You’re kidding.”
“That’s what he said.”
“They contacted us, or we contacted them?”
Thinking for a second she said, “I don’t know you’d have to ask Tina.”
“Tina?”
“She’s been talking to them so far.”
“Why then do you need me?”
“They asked for the person in charge.”
“And Tina said that was me?”
“Everybody said it was you. Tina said she was sending for you and they said they’d stay on until you could get there to talk to them.”
I looked over at Maritza. Marissa was standing next to her and they both had grins on their faces. “Go on,” Maritza said, “they’re waiting for you. You can tell us about it when you get back. Go now.”
I got up and led Jennifer out the door, over to the lab and up all four flights of stairs to observation deck.
“It’s about time, where the hell have you been?” Tina said and then turned to the microphone in front of her.
“There’s a lot of stairs between your place and mine.”
“This is climate base to US station one. This is climate base to US station one, over.”
“Climate base, this is US station one. Is Mr. Smith there now?”
“Yes he is, over.”
“Mr. Smith this is William Beaumont calling. I am assistant secretary for science and technology in the US government in exile, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.”
“Mr. Beaumont, this is Jack Smith. What can I do for you?”
“I and my associates have been speaking with your climatologist (I looked over at Tina and then back out the window) and she tells me that you are the leader of your community there. Is this true?”
“If she says so. Mr. Beaumont I’d appreciate it if you’d call me Jack. Everybody here does.”
“Only if you’ll call me Bill, Jack.”
“That I can do. What else can we do for you Bill?”
“It’s not so much what you can do for us, as it is what we can do for you.”
“Do for us?”
“From what your climatologist has told us your community is something of a scientific enterprise, yes?”
“Yes it is. We are lucky to have gathered a few very high skilled people, who for reasons that are their own chose to stay here and fight this new climate.”
“That is exactly what we had hoped.”
“Why is that?”
“We here would very much like to have access to the data you are collecting. We have facilities here for its analysis.”
“That’s all you want? It has always been our goal to do exactly that.”
“If you think it’s feasible we’d like to support your efforts there.”
“You’re a long way from here, Bill.”
“Distance is not a problem, Jack. I have three transports being loaded as we speak with equipment and supplies for your team. To this point we have loaded the generators, radio equipment, computers and scientific equipment requested by your climatologist. What else can we send you?”
“Food is our greatest need. We have twenty two mouths to feed and scavenging the countryside is becoming less and less productive.”
“We assumed that might be the case. I will have the other two transports loaded with foodstuffs and get them in the air first thing in the morning. Do you have truck transport available to you?”
“Outside three pickup trucks, no sir.”
“That’s clear. We can airdrop your supplies if you’d rather that modality be used.”
“We are adjacent to the former campus golf course.”
“I will inform transport of this. We will contact you tomorrow when the transports are in the air. They will contact you on this frequency tomorrow when they are one hour out.”
“Roger that. It goes without saying that we appreciate your assistance.”
“In the bigger picture it may be that we here in the south are the greater beneficiaries of your sacrifice in staying where you are. And I have to say that I am looking forward to your installation of satellite communications.”
“We look forward to it sir. Is there anything else?”
“Your climatologist said that you have your own electrical engineer is she available?”
“She’s right here sir. Her name is Jennifer, and she’s the genius that has made this conversation possible.”
I could here laughter on the connection as I handed the microphone to Jennifer. She mouthed the words Now you’ve got him thinking I’m some kind of genius you turd. But she was smiling when she said it. As she started speaking I turned to April and said, “April will you please spread the word that we will all need to pitch in tomorrow morning to bring in the supplies?”
“I can’t wait to. Everyone will be very excited. What time?”
“I have no idea, maybe we should all just get up early and stay ready. If those planes take off early in the morning, I can’t imagine them getting here before noon, but who knows? We’ll know better in the morning when they let us know they’ve left. We can find out the ETA then.”
“Makes sense. You goin back home?”
“In a minute. I have one more question to ask Mr. Beaumont.”
Jennifer stopped speaking and looked over her shoulder.
“Hold on Bill, Jack has another question.”
“Yes Jack?”
“Bill, because we’ll be moving the supplies by hand is it possible that you could limit their individual blocks to what two people can lift?”
“Hold on.”
Jennifer said, “Good idea, they’d have dropped half ton cargo boxes for sure.”
“Jack?”
“Yes, Bill.”
“That won’t be a problem with the food or most of the equipment, but there are a few pieces of equipment that cannot be broken down to subassemblies that small.”
“Okay, how about sending along something that will help us pickup and move heavy cargo over a golf course?”
“We’ll have to work on that. I’m sure we can send along something to help you out with that.”
“One more thing Bill, we could use fuel, gas, diesel, kerosene and lamp oil.”
“We’d already included the gas and diesel. The other fuels won’t be too much of a problem. That all?”
“I think so. I haven’t had too much time to work out our current logistical situation.”
Tine and Jennifer both raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
“Would it be possible for you to include a couple personal items?”
“If possible.”
“I’d love some cigars, and there are many here who’d kill for a cigarette that wasn’t a couple years old.”
“Don’t forget that we’ll be sending regular supply runs going forward.”
“Thank you sir. I’ll be much more prepared for the next run.” I said handing the mic back to Jennifer. April was already gone so I grabbed my coat and headed for the door.
Tina blocked my way. “You did okay.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s the family?”
“Maritza and Marissa are fine. How are you doing?”
“I’ll be doing better once we get all the equipment I asked for up and running.”
“You’re the reason they’re interested in us at all.”
“I doubt it. If I wasn’t here they’ve sent a climatologist.”
“You know that never crossed my mind.”
“That’s because you’re not the climatologist with no name. Did you notice that he called you and Jennifer by name but kept referring to me as the climatologist?”
“That’s not what I meant. It never occurred to me that they’d send someone here in addition to the stuff they’re sending along.”
“Would that be a problem?”
“Nothing’s free. Hold on a second.”
I walked back to the radio and saw that Jennifer was still talking.
“Jennifer?” I said holding my hand out for the mic.
“Bill can I ask you one more question?”
“Certainly.”
“Are you planning to send any personnel along with the supplies?”
“Of course. You will be needing technicians to support our equipment.”
“Mr. Beaumont I hope you will believe me when I say that all we need are the necessary tools and manuals to support the equipment. No additional personnel are requested or desired here.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m not sure we can risk a million or more dollars of highly technical equipment without sending along the personnel needed to support it.”
“Mr. Beaumont if you change your mind in the future and do need our data, please contact us on this frequency and our community of highly educated and trained research one university technicians and professors are at your service.”
Silence.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing? What the hell difference…”
“Mr. Smith, Mr. Beaumont here.”
“Yes sir,” I said smiling.
“Please be prepared to receive transmission on this frequency in two hours. Do you have clocks there?”
“Yes sir, on our computers.”
“We will contact you no later than 2:15pm your time. Is that clear?”
“It’s clear sir. We’ll be here. Out.
“US station one out.”
That was it then. We had two hours to wait.
“Like I was saying,” Tina continued, “what possible difference does it make if they want to send a couple technicians?”
“Materiel and food is one thing. They’ll make life a little easier, and somewhat more interesting. Sending people here compromises the dynamic of what has, up till now, naturally evolved into a community of people.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a couple government people coming in here messin this place beyond all recognition.’
“How the hell do know that’s what they’d do?” Tina was yelling now. Everybody was staring at her.
“Tina, governments control. That’s why they exist. I don’t feel the need to be controlled.”
“What you mean to say is that you don’t want anybody else in control here, other than you of course.”
“Tina,” Jennifer said. “I’ve got to go with Jack on this one.”
“Maybe we ought to take a vote,” Tina said, her voice returning to normal.
“Mr. Beaumont is going to call us back in less than two hours. We’ll have to have an answer before then,” Frank said pointing to the radio.
“I tell you what,” I said, “April’s already going around telling people about tomorrow. I’ll go find her and we’ll get everybody to meet at my house in half an hour. We’ll have some coffee, talk it out and have a vote. Okay?”
Nods all around.
Frank looked at Jennifer and then said, “Jack, we’ll stay here. You have our vote for what it’s worth.”
“Jennifer?”
“You heard the man. We need to do a little work on this radio before we need it again.”
“Okay.”
“Jack, I’m gonna come with you.”
“Suit yourself,” I said putting my coat on and heading out.
We went from door to door, catching up to April at the third door. Twenty minutes later it was clear there was no reason for a meeting. Everyone we talked to said that if I thought it was best they were willing to go along with my condition. Everyone but Tina had a tangible distrust for anything to do with the government. Their reasons were their own.
“I guess I can assume that Maritza will vote with you,” Tina said stopping at the front door to the lab.
“I don’t know, she has a mind of her own. Either way just about everyone here doesn’t seem to find the idea of the government sending people here to be a good one.”
“And here I thought you were just trying to make me out to be the bad guy.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why would I want to do that? Better yet why is it that of all the people here you’re the only one who thinks it’s a good idea?”
“You wouldn’t understand Jack, forget it,” she said turning the doorknob.
I grabbed her sleeve and said, “You know Tina if you’d relax a little you’d be surprised how many friends you had you didn’t know about.”
She jerked her sleeve from my hand and said without turning around, “Sure Jack, whatever you say,” before she disappeared through the door.
I jogged over to the house and sprinted up the stairs.
“What happened?” Maritza said.
I described the last hour and a half as quickly as I could and explained I had to get back in a few minutes.
“So you really told this assistant secretary that you weren’t going to have him sending his people but he could go ahead and send his million dollars worth of equipment and food anyway, you really told him that?”
“I did, do you think I screwed up?”
“You’re asking me this?”
“I want to know what you think.”
“Everybody but Tina already said that they agreed with you.”
“Maritza, I need to know what you think.”
“Jack, I think you did the right thing. There’s no way those people would come in here and just fix things if they broke. They’d be trying to fix this place like they thought it should be or how they were told it should be working. More importantly their motivation would be to get from us what we need. Our current leader’s greatest concern is for the welfare of the people who live here and what’s best for them. This is what I think.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s important to me that you asked me what I think. No go back over there. We’ll have dinner ready for you when you get back.”
“I think I’m gonna need a pot or two of coffee. I won’t be sleeping too much tonight.”
“Neither will I then.”
“I love you.”
She stood there for a moment and then said, “That’s the first time you’ve told me.”
“I do.”
“I love you too, Jack. Since the first time I saw you I knew. Now go, you can’t be late.”
I leaned over and kissed her. She pulled my head back and kissed me again whispering, “I love you too as she pulled back.
“Now go,” she said pushing me towards the door.
When I got there Mr. Beaumont was already on the radio talking to Jennifer.
“He’s here Mr. Beaumont,” she said handing the mic to me.
“Mr. Smith, Bill Beaumont here.”
“Good to hear from you again sir.”
“I have spoken to my people here and we have no problem sending along what you have requested at this time. We are also sending along all necessary support and maintenance documentation, resources, and tools you could possibly need.”
“Thank you Bill,” I said, “so we can expect a call in the morning when the aircraft are airborne.”
“There will be no need. The aircraft will be airborne at approximately midnight and should be at your location approximately one hour after sunrise. You can expect a call from the mission at approximately six am your time to confirm a final arrival time. Is that clear?”
“That’s clear, sir. Is there anything we need to do to be prepared on our end?”
“Have your people ready to collect what we drop. We will be sending along a forklift vehicle to assist you. We have also scheduled a second drop seventy two hours after the first that will be comprised entirely of food. It has been decided that ensuring your food supply through the winter is of the utmost importance.”
“We very much appreciate that sir. More than you can know.”
“Your group is very unique amongst the twenty of so that we have been able to contact thus far. Yours is the only one that seems to have all the required personnel and to spare. Because of your success we will be sending out teams to investigate other locations that have had major university campuses in the past.”
“You’ll be sending these personnel here sir?” I asked fearing the answer.
“No sir. We will be creating and sending out overland two dozen teams to determine whether or not there are other groups extant such as yours who currently do not have access to radio or other communications.”
“Jack you wouldn’t have a list of the names of your personnel handy would you? We’ve had quite of few requests since word has gotten out that we’ve contacted a new group.”
“One moment sir.” I let go of the key to the mike. “Folks I need a list of all first and last names and approximate ages as quick as you can.”
Two minutes later I’d read and spelled all the names as well as I could and we were done.
“Do you really think anything’ll come of them putting out our names?” Frank asked.
“I hope so,” Tina said, “I’d love to know for sure if my folks made it down there all right.
“I’m not sure that was the main purpose of getting our names,” I said looking at the snow blowing past the window past tops of the trees.
“Shit, here we go with the governmental paranoia again,” Tina said getting up to leave the lab.
Ignoring her I continued, “I believe the main reason they wanted the names was to allow them to run checks on us to see if we really are qualified to run this station for them.”
Nods all around, even Tina seemed to agree.
“So you don’t think we’ve heard the last of Mr. Beaumont wanting to send his people in here,” Jennifer said shutting down the radio.
“I doubt it but that, as they say, is a problem for another day. I’ll just be glad when we get both these shipments we’ve been promised and nobody walks out from under any of the parachutes.”
“I hear that,” Frank said shaking my hand on his way out.
“I’ll see you all about six okay. Pass the word?”
“We’ll want to bring every truck and wagon right?”
“Everything we can haul boxes in.”
“Frank, do you have any firearms at your place?”
“Sure, why?”
“When these parachutes start drifting toward the ground anybody and everybody else living for thirty miles will be coming to see what’s going on.”
“You think there’ll be trouble?”
“I hope not, but I’d rather be ready and nothing happen than the reverse.”
“I’ll pass the word around about being prepared, too.”
“Thank you sir.”
Well, what did he say?” Marissa asked as soon as I was inside the door.
“Marissa, let Jack get his coat off.”
“It’s okay, everything went very well as long as what Mr. Beaumont said is true.”
“So he’s still sending supplies tomorrow?” Maritza set a cup of coffee on the kitchen table and patted the table. I walked over, sat down and took a sip. “He is sending supplies tomorrow along with some kind of forklift to help us load the stuff. He’s also sending an all food shipment on Saturday that he said would be enough to get us through the winter.”
“So not only did you keep him from sending people, he’s sending enough food for the whole winter?”
“It was his idea.”
“I doubt that, he just knew that you weren’t a man to be taken lightly.”
I had to smile.
“What? It’s true.”
“I am very proud of you,” Marissa said putting a bowl of stew in front of me. “You haven’t eaten anything all day so eat up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“What’s tomorrow’s schedule?” Maritza said sitting across from me with a cup of coffee.
“Well Mr. Beaumont said that the planes should get here about one hour after sunrise.”
“That’s about eight or so.”
“That’s the way I calculated it. One of the pilots is going to call us on the radio when they’re an hour out. We can leave here about a half hour after that and go to the golf course. I hope Jennifer told them to drop it in the South east corner.”
“If she didn’t you can always tell them in the morning when they call. When you get done eating we need you to get you to bed, there’s going to be a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“Which we cannot stop until we are finished. I don’t even have any idea where we can put six plane loads of supplies.”
“We’ve got twelve hundred feet of space downstairs, three floors of the lab, and any number of empty houses around here we can use for storage,” Maritza said.
“Well there’s nothing to worry about then,” I said between bites.
“I’ll take care getting the food stored. All the equipment will be going in the lab. Next year we’ll have time to build a warehouse facility.”
“Marissa can I have another bowl?” I said holding it out to her.
“Yes you sure can.”
On her way over to the stove she said, “Jack can I ask you a question?”
“Any time.”
Walking back she said, “Would it be okay if called you dad?”
I looked up into her eyes as she stood over me. She looked anxious, and a little scared. I stood up and hugged her as tightly as I dared. “It would be the greatest honor of my life to be your dad.” And then she cried, and Maritza cried, and hell I cried. We all ended up hugging each other for the longest time.
“Ladies I am absolutely stuffed, I’m going out for some air.”
“Where are you going?” Maritza said.
“Nowhere, just drive around with the window open for a while. I need to scout out some houses to use for storage and take a look at the ground over on the golf course. It’s only a couple hours till dark, I’ll be back by then okay?”
“Dad, lemme put the rest of the coffee in your thermos before you go.”
“Thank you daughter.”
She had the biggest smile on her face when she handed me the thermos.
“Be careful daddy.”
“I’ll always come home to my girls.”
“You better,” she said squeezing my hand.
“I will.”
Taking in the houses in the neighborhood and driving around the golf course only took about twenty minutes. I was lucky I didn’t get stuck in a sand trap I didn’t see under the snow. I took off down Texas heading for my actual objective for the trip a jewelry store I remembered and sure enough it was still there. I had to smash the door to get in and half expected the alarm to go off. Of course it didn’t but also of course there was no jewelry to be found anywhere, way too easy to transport. What I wanted was to find Maritza a ring. We were about as married as two people could get and she more than any other woman I’d ever met deserved a ring.
I went outside, sat in the truck and racked my brain where I could possibly find a ring. I figured I might as well search a few more stores while I was waiting for an idea. I broke into six more stores and found the same nothing in each one. In half of them the doors of the safes were still open which made me wonder why the others had been still locked. I had half a plan to blow those safes when I had a better idea. It occurred to me that most people keep their computer passwords on a note taped within eighteen inches of their computer so I went back to the store I was in first and started searching the sides and back of the safe, nothing. I searched the desk in the office, the bottoms of the drawers, underneath the slide out, outside the desk under the desk, damn, still nothing. Then I walked back to the truck and got my flashlight and got down on the floor and looked under the safe and there it was. I got a broom and swiped at the dust until I could run my fingertips against the steel surface. I could feel three numbers scratched into the paint. It took two dozen tries before I got the number right; before the handle turned. I actually held my breath as I pointed the flashlight inside.
Money, all there was, was goddamn money. Worthless, not even good for toilet paper. I pulled it out anyway figuring Maritza and Marissa would get a kick out of using it to start fires. I filled two paper bags with the stuff, there must’ve been at least a million dollars in cash. My jeweler friend must’ve known that paper money wouldn’t be worth much where he was going. Ergo leaving the safe locked, old habits die hard.
I reached to the back of all the compartments to make sure I had all the money and felt something at the back of one of the cubby holes, it was stuck. I got my fingers wrapped around it and pulled whatever it was tore and I heard a metallic sound. When I pulled my hand out I had half a black velvet bag in my hand. I stuck my back in and, palm down pulled out what had fallen out of the bag. I caught them in my hand as each one fell from the cubby hole. And there they were. Six diamond rings all of which had a single large diamond set in what was either white gold or platinum. One of the rings had two blue stones, one on each side of the diamond.
I searched the drawers behind the main sales counter until I found ring boxes. I got two and put Maritza’s ring in one and the other five rings in the other one; grabbed my flashlight and rushed outside. It was dark, real dark. Maritza was gonna be madder than hell at me being gone so long.
It only took five minutes to get back to the house but it seemed like forever.
“Ladies, I’m home. Sorry I’m late.”
“Jack,” Maritza said running across the room, “I was so worried, you said you would be back by dark and that was two hours ago. I was about to go get Frank to help me go find you I was so sure something had happened to you.”
“I’m so sorry Maritza, I got caught up in something and I lost all track of time.”
“What possibly could have been so important that you lost track of time for two hours?”
All I could do was reach into my pocket, pull out the box and hand it to her.
The anger left her face as she said, “Jack what is this?”
“Now that we’re a family I wanted to give you a ring, I want you to feel like my wife, and if that’s what you wanted, and if it was I wanted everyone to know.”
“Jack are you proposing marriage to me?”
“Very, very badly, but yes I think I am.”
“Well here,” she said handing me back the unopened box, “do it correctly please.”
I took the box back and was about to get down on my knee when I stopped and asked, “Where is Marissa?”
“She’s in her room. Would you like her to be here for this?”
“I’d like to ask her if it’s okay before I ask you if that’s okay with you I mean.”
“I think that would mean a great deal to her. Go get her.”
I knocked on her door and went in when she said come in.
“Did you just get back?”
“Yes I did, it took me longer than I thought it would to find what I was looking for.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Marissa for a while now I have found that I love your mom very much.”
“I know. She’s very happy. She’s told me she loves you very much too.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have decided to ask your mom to be my wife.”
“Could you two be more married than you are now?”
“I just want to your mom to know how much I love and respect her, and for me that means asking her to marry me and giving her a ring.”
“That’s what you went out to get a ring for my mom?”
“Yes but before I actually asked your mom, I wanted to ask you if you were all right with your mom and me making it official.”
“Of course,” she said hugging my neck and kissing my cheek. “Go, hurry up she’s waiting for you. Go on.”
“Thanks baby,” I said.
“Love you too, dad.”
Everything was picked up in the kitchen, which let me know that there was only one other place Maritza could be. I thought for a second about knocking on the door of the bedroom before I just went ahead and went in.
She was sitting at her vanity wearing a white negligee that was all but see through. I just stood there staring.
“Jack would you please brush my hair for me?”
I remembered with a start that I still had the ring box in my hand. “Okay.”
“I laid you out some pajamas on the bed go ahead and change into them. I want to see how you look in them.”
“Okay.” It was warm in the room. I looked over at the stove and the door was a dark cherry red around the edges. I walked around the far side of the bed and changed as quickly as I could. I wished I could’ve taken a bath but there was no time now. She handed me her brush over her shoulder when I’d walked up behind her.
“Maritza, I’ve got something I’d like to ask you.”
“As soon as you get finished.”
Concentrating on the task at hand was very difficult with such a beautiful woman in front of me all but naked. But it was the film of the negligee that heightened the sensation for me. I’d never seen such a thing before.
“Let’s see,” she said reaching around to grab the mass of black curls from my hand smoothing them with her hand.
“I might just have to give you this job permanently; you do a very fine job. Help me up on the bed would you?”
“Of course.” I held out a hand and helped her up into the bed where she sat on the edge. I couldn’t take my eyes away. She reached out a hand, grabbed my chin and lifted my face up to look at hers.
“See anything you like?”
I could not make my mouth work to say a word. I was completely captured by the way she looked at that moment. She shook my chin back and forth a little and said, “Did you say you had a question to ask me?”
I snapped back and saw her looking at me with her dark eyes. I reached behind her and grabbed the box. Getting down on one knee put me in the wrong position to be able to concentrate enough to ask Maritza what I needed to ask her.
Again she reached down to get my full attention. “Yes?”
“Maritza, I hope you know how very much I love you. I hope you also know that I want you and I to spend every remaining day that we have together. I know that together we can face anything that even life as it is now can send our way. God has blessed me greatly bring us together, and I would be more honored than any man has a right to be if you would marry me.” I opened the box and held it up to her and waited for her answer.
She drew a breath that let me know that she was impressed with the ring. “Jack come up her and get in bed with me.”
Not the answer I was hoping for. I did though, after blowing out the lamps. The woodstove was even brighter in the dark that descended on the room making red dancing lights on the walls.
“Jack, I love you so much that it scares me sometimes. I never thought I’d find a man like you who would love me so completely, so unconditionally. You love my daughter I think as much as you love me. I feel your love for her as strongly as I feel your love for me.”
She took my hand and placed it on her chest.
“Can you feel my heart beating Jack?”
“Yes, Maritza I can. Your heart beat put me to sleep last night.”
In the fire light I could see big tears welling up and running down Maritza’s face.
“Thank you Jack.”
“For?”
“Everything you’ve done for me, for your love for me and Marissa, for protecting us, for providing for us, for making us laugh, for making us feel safe and at home.
“That goes both ways you know.”
“I know, that’s why my answer is yes, of course I’ll marry you. Someday I hope we can find a priest, until then we are married before God. I am honored to be your wife.”
I put the ring on her finger and, of course, it was way too big.
She laughed and said, I knew it would be. Wait.” She dropped down out of bed and went across the room to her vanity. Even in the dark it was a sight that is carved forever in my memory. She was back in a couple minutes with yarn wrapped around the inside. “See?”
“I can fix that tomorrow.”
“You won’t have time tomorrow; we’ll all be very busy.”
“The next day then. It won’t be a perfect repair, but I can make it fit.”
“I have faith that you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to.”
“I was able to find five more rings; I can remove the diamonds and use the platinum to make you a wedding band if you’d like one.”
“I have my mother’s wedding band that I’d like to wear.”
“That would be perfect.”
She held up the ring and looked at it in the dark trying to catch the tiny bit of light in the room. She then sat up and started pulling her negligee over her head and I stopped her.
“Please don’t. I have never seen anything half as beautiful in my life as you in that, whatever it is.”
“I though you might like it,” were the last words either of us said that night.
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