sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you Pac. 
Story Over the River and Through the Woods
- Thread starter PacNorWest
- Start date
Dumb Blonde
Contributing Member
I made the wrong choice twice and have regretted it for a quarter of a century. Now I have found Mr Right and I thank God with every breath I take. (And I tell him every day how thankful I am!)
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#42
By the time Warren got to Bruce and got the big, dumb jerk turned around and headed back towards the waiting car, Luce and Tricia were no where to be seen.
Warren was so coldly furious, Bruce could see where Mark got his temper. When they got in the car, Warren was demanding to know what was the matter with Bruce and when he found out the idiotic reason Bruce had abruptly left, Warren sighed hard and said in a scathing voice; "She didn't have any good clothes, she borrowed that suit you ####### idiot."
The car exited the tunnel when it was their turn and started down the street. Off in the distance, Warren could see a duo of light coral and grey suits as the two ladies walked back to their scheduled party.
Suddenly, Warren had the perfect revenge against Bruce. There was nothing better than a good Italian Catholic celebration, one that Warren decided to attend and Bruce could sit and sulk where ever he happened to sit.
Warren instructed the driver, and they stopped to give Tricia and Luce a lift. Bruce got out and opened the door for Trish, handed her in and went to sit in the front with the driver. He couldn't meet her eyes, didn't know what to say, so he sat in misery.
The driver had to leave them at the party, he had other obligations. So that was how Warren and Bruce attended Tricia's graduation party. Well, at least Warren was there and having fun. A couple of glasses of the robust Chianti and Warren was singing and dancing with the best that the good hardworking neighborhood had to offer.
The party was held in the church fellowship hall, and the room was ringing with laughter and good cheer. Luce worked hard to do her part in the kitchen, mostly to keep her mind off the tall white haired man out in the main hall. She put an apron on to protect her suit and started setting places for the upcoming meal.
Warren was out in the thick of the men, roaring and laughing in perfectively good Italian; so Luce knew she had been correct when she suspected he knew more than he was letting on. Twice she had to stop and look at the tall man, it was safe to watch him from afar and Luce indulged herself. It wasn't likely she would ever see him again, so she stored up memories.
Once, Warren the super sleuth felt eyes on him and he looked around to see Luce staring at him with an unreadable expression. He raised his glass as a toast to her and was rewarded with a small, painful smile. Warren the party animal, was in full swing.
Bruce, as the party grew louder and his misery greater; retreated further and further from the noise. Soon the only quiet place was the Sanctuary, so that's where he sat. Hunched against the side of the pew, way back in the shadows, Bruce finally let his heart hurt.
That's where the old retired Priest found him, as the man walked down the aisle to join the fun. Stopping at the opposite end of the pew, Father Shaun felt drawn to the human who didn't notice him approaching.
"May I help you my son," he intoned and was astonished to see the sheen of tears in the man's eyes, when Bruce looked up.
Bruce shook his head no, he had such a lump in his throat, he couldn't speak.
It took an hour to get the story pried out of Bruce, and the good Father nodded as he finally got Bruce to talking. Then it was another hour to get, 'the rest of the story.'
Tricia was well aware Bruce was missing. She had no idea what she had done wrong this time, but it must have been a pretty big one. Once again she decided she loved that man with every fiber of her being, but he was simply no good for her. The drama she couldn't handle any longer.
Tricia thought it was sad that Bruce couldn't manage to be happy for her, even for one night. He had told her to pick up her bag and baggage and move on, and since he kept popping up in her life to meter out his special brand of misery, she simply had to move further away.
All through the evening, Trish looked for Bruce in the crowded hall and couldn't find him. When she found Father Shaun, he beckoned to her and asked if she would speak with a man in the Sanctuary.
Father Shaun, the Irish Priest that had been transferred from the hospital in Portland to the Italian neighbor hood in Raleigh, took Tricia's hands in his own. "He's in love with ya lassie, but he's a damaged man. I dinna know if ya want the complications."
Tricia looked as miserable to Father Shaun as Bruce did, children today made love so difficult, he was thinking.
By the time Warren got to Bruce and got the big, dumb jerk turned around and headed back towards the waiting car, Luce and Tricia were no where to be seen.
Warren was so coldly furious, Bruce could see where Mark got his temper. When they got in the car, Warren was demanding to know what was the matter with Bruce and when he found out the idiotic reason Bruce had abruptly left, Warren sighed hard and said in a scathing voice; "She didn't have any good clothes, she borrowed that suit you ####### idiot."
The car exited the tunnel when it was their turn and started down the street. Off in the distance, Warren could see a duo of light coral and grey suits as the two ladies walked back to their scheduled party.
Suddenly, Warren had the perfect revenge against Bruce. There was nothing better than a good Italian Catholic celebration, one that Warren decided to attend and Bruce could sit and sulk where ever he happened to sit.
Warren instructed the driver, and they stopped to give Tricia and Luce a lift. Bruce got out and opened the door for Trish, handed her in and went to sit in the front with the driver. He couldn't meet her eyes, didn't know what to say, so he sat in misery.
The driver had to leave them at the party, he had other obligations. So that was how Warren and Bruce attended Tricia's graduation party. Well, at least Warren was there and having fun. A couple of glasses of the robust Chianti and Warren was singing and dancing with the best that the good hardworking neighborhood had to offer.
The party was held in the church fellowship hall, and the room was ringing with laughter and good cheer. Luce worked hard to do her part in the kitchen, mostly to keep her mind off the tall white haired man out in the main hall. She put an apron on to protect her suit and started setting places for the upcoming meal.
Warren was out in the thick of the men, roaring and laughing in perfectively good Italian; so Luce knew she had been correct when she suspected he knew more than he was letting on. Twice she had to stop and look at the tall man, it was safe to watch him from afar and Luce indulged herself. It wasn't likely she would ever see him again, so she stored up memories.
Once, Warren the super sleuth felt eyes on him and he looked around to see Luce staring at him with an unreadable expression. He raised his glass as a toast to her and was rewarded with a small, painful smile. Warren the party animal, was in full swing.
Bruce, as the party grew louder and his misery greater; retreated further and further from the noise. Soon the only quiet place was the Sanctuary, so that's where he sat. Hunched against the side of the pew, way back in the shadows, Bruce finally let his heart hurt.
That's where the old retired Priest found him, as the man walked down the aisle to join the fun. Stopping at the opposite end of the pew, Father Shaun felt drawn to the human who didn't notice him approaching.
"May I help you my son," he intoned and was astonished to see the sheen of tears in the man's eyes, when Bruce looked up.
Bruce shook his head no, he had such a lump in his throat, he couldn't speak.
It took an hour to get the story pried out of Bruce, and the good Father nodded as he finally got Bruce to talking. Then it was another hour to get, 'the rest of the story.'
Tricia was well aware Bruce was missing. She had no idea what she had done wrong this time, but it must have been a pretty big one. Once again she decided she loved that man with every fiber of her being, but he was simply no good for her. The drama she couldn't handle any longer.
Tricia thought it was sad that Bruce couldn't manage to be happy for her, even for one night. He had told her to pick up her bag and baggage and move on, and since he kept popping up in her life to meter out his special brand of misery, she simply had to move further away.
All through the evening, Trish looked for Bruce in the crowded hall and couldn't find him. When she found Father Shaun, he beckoned to her and asked if she would speak with a man in the Sanctuary.
Father Shaun, the Irish Priest that had been transferred from the hospital in Portland to the Italian neighbor hood in Raleigh, took Tricia's hands in his own. "He's in love with ya lassie, but he's a damaged man. I dinna know if ya want the complications."
Tricia looked as miserable to Father Shaun as Bruce did, children today made love so difficult, he was thinking.
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thanks for more of your fantastic story PAC I sure hope that Bruce and Tricia find true love in God'a plain for them.
Wayne
Wayne
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#42b
Tricia opened the door to the Sanctuary and stood for a second, letting her eyes adjust to the semi darkness. The alter light was the only light on, and she looked and finally found Bruce sitting hunched over in the last darkened pew.
Tricia stopped and genuflected and then slowly walked the length of the empty wooden bench to slide in beside Bruce.
That she came at all, was a hope for Bruce; and as Tricia sat next to him, she arrived with a little swish of ladies clothing and a faint rush of good smelling perfume. If anything, it made him feel worse.
Bruce sat up, but couldn't look at Trish. "I'm sorry," he said in a broken tone. "That's the only thing I seem to be able to say to you."
Trish gathered her courage and reached out and took Bruce's left hand and held it on her lap. Threading her fingers between his, palm to palm, she sat quietly as being close to him was all she ever wanted. Tricia could smell his shave lotion, and the unique scent every individual has.
Minutes ticked by, and she could feel Bruce beginning to relax. Taking his hand firmly between hers, Trish whispered.
"Bruce, do you have feelings for me?"
"Yes," the broken tone he used was a frightened sound, Bruce armoring himself against the hurt he expected.
"Then I will pray that God opens your heart to let me in. When that happens, come to me Bruce. I will be waiting for as long as it takes."
Tricia kissed the palm of his hand and moved it to rest on his heart. Then she stood up and walked out.
Bruce sat there for a long time with his thoughts screaming at mach force in his mind. He wasn't a religious man, that had never been part of his life, but he had no one else to talk to but God. So Bruce did.
Back in the party room, the mood was getting raucous and slightly naughty as the wine, the heat and the inhibitions flowed. The men were playing an adult version of truth or dare, and it was Warren that was dared to give a passionate kiss to a woman present.
As the music played and the men clapped, Warren went on the prowl to find Luce. She was the only woman he knew there besides Tricia and when he found her, Warren gave Luce a very passionate kiss and got the shock of his life. Kissing Luce was more stirring than kissing Happy, and it made him tremble. Warren the sophisticated party animal, the suave and debonair man of the world, got knocked on his rear by the jolting feeling that happened when he touched Luce's lips.
He looked at Luce, the infectious party behavior gone from him as he stood there and watched tears gather in her eyes. What started out as a joke, cheapened what Luce felt and she turned away.
The noise and clapping continued and Warren was clapped on the back for accomplishing his dare in such a manly way. With his attention distracted, it was several minutes before he turned around and look for Tricia's mom and offer an apology for his rude behavior. Luce wasn't there.
Tricia opened the door to the Sanctuary and stood for a second, letting her eyes adjust to the semi darkness. The alter light was the only light on, and she looked and finally found Bruce sitting hunched over in the last darkened pew.
Tricia stopped and genuflected and then slowly walked the length of the empty wooden bench to slide in beside Bruce.
That she came at all, was a hope for Bruce; and as Tricia sat next to him, she arrived with a little swish of ladies clothing and a faint rush of good smelling perfume. If anything, it made him feel worse.
Bruce sat up, but couldn't look at Trish. "I'm sorry," he said in a broken tone. "That's the only thing I seem to be able to say to you."
Trish gathered her courage and reached out and took Bruce's left hand and held it on her lap. Threading her fingers between his, palm to palm, she sat quietly as being close to him was all she ever wanted. Tricia could smell his shave lotion, and the unique scent every individual has.
Minutes ticked by, and she could feel Bruce beginning to relax. Taking his hand firmly between hers, Trish whispered.
"Bruce, do you have feelings for me?"
"Yes," the broken tone he used was a frightened sound, Bruce armoring himself against the hurt he expected.
"Then I will pray that God opens your heart to let me in. When that happens, come to me Bruce. I will be waiting for as long as it takes."
Tricia kissed the palm of his hand and moved it to rest on his heart. Then she stood up and walked out.
Bruce sat there for a long time with his thoughts screaming at mach force in his mind. He wasn't a religious man, that had never been part of his life, but he had no one else to talk to but God. So Bruce did.
Back in the party room, the mood was getting raucous and slightly naughty as the wine, the heat and the inhibitions flowed. The men were playing an adult version of truth or dare, and it was Warren that was dared to give a passionate kiss to a woman present.
As the music played and the men clapped, Warren went on the prowl to find Luce. She was the only woman he knew there besides Tricia and when he found her, Warren gave Luce a very passionate kiss and got the shock of his life. Kissing Luce was more stirring than kissing Happy, and it made him tremble. Warren the sophisticated party animal, the suave and debonair man of the world, got knocked on his rear by the jolting feeling that happened when he touched Luce's lips.
He looked at Luce, the infectious party behavior gone from him as he stood there and watched tears gather in her eyes. What started out as a joke, cheapened what Luce felt and she turned away.
The noise and clapping continued and Warren was clapped on the back for accomplishing his dare in such a manly way. With his attention distracted, it was several minutes before he turned around and look for Tricia's mom and offer an apology for his rude behavior. Luce wasn't there.
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thanks Pac, great chapter
Wayne
Wayne
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#42c
The party ended at midnight, leaving Warren and Bruce stranded with no way to get home. Warren finally called Toby to come get them, making Toby swear all the way down to South Carolina and back. Toby didn't know, didn't care what had happened at the party, but both his friends were acting weird and he was tempted to ask if there had been any witches present at the shindig.
Both Warren and Bruce would have answered in the affirmative, they had both been bewitched.
Bruce reported to the hospital for his first shift on Monday. That night, he knocked on the door of the resident Mental Health professional at five minutes to six, walked in and announced he needed fixed, so fix him. At the last moment he remembered to say please, he was in a hurry.
The Doctor had looked at Bruce, all six foot three inches of tightly wired neurosis, and swallowed hard. This wasn't going to be a fifteen minute job. Bruce was signed in, got his paperwork completed and sent home with an appointment for the next day.
So tired he could barely drag himself home, well not home, he thought; back to Mark and Clora's, Bruce ate supper and collapsed in his room to sleep. That was his routine for the next month. The only variation was when he went to talk to Dr. Ross about his problems.
Dr. Ross was used to helping type A, hard driven physicians deal with their lives. They were all like Bruce. Once they identified the problem, they wanted fixed and wanted it to happen yesterday; they had other things to do.
The problem was, if they needed fixed, it was necessary to go back to when the problem started. For Bruce, that was a very long time ago in a life he wanted to forget at all costs. Bruce Ammons was most likely the hardest patient Dr. Ross had encountered.
As more information surfaced about Tricia, Dr. Ross marveled at how wise the young woman had been. She left the healing up to Bruce, it was his decision to heal or not to heal; his decision to take them forward or simply forget each other. There was no more Dr. Bruce, the person that didn't deserve what life had handed out to him. No more being a victim, no whining, no more flying off the handle, no more jumping to conclusions and no more rages.
Another month went by, and Bruce got a small note card in the mail. It was a picture of the city where Tricia had gotten a job, included her address and inside she had written, 'thinking of you' and made a small smiley face next to her name.
It wasn't cold and impersonal, nor was it mushy, gooshy. It wasn't stress inducing or pushing Bruce faster than he could go. The wise doctor could tell Tricia really loved her man, enough so, that if he needed to leave; she would let him go.
Bruce had been very proud when he brought the card in for Emory Ross to read. "She trusts me enough to let me know where she is." and Bruce, the tightly wrapped package of anger and doubt practically danced around the room on tip toes.
Dr. Ross hid his smile and told Bruce to sit down, they had work to do. The note cards arrived like clockwork once a month, Tricia never varied the message and it was an affirmation to Bruce, that steadied him.
It was right before Thanksgiving that Bruce called his father, for the first time in more than twenty years. The elder Ammons still in the small red brick house that Bruce had left when he was seventeen. The old man cried on the phone and asked Bruce to come see him. Bruce agreed. It was the major part of his problems, the relationship he had with his father, that needed to be resolved.
Like all old men, Wilber Ammons had severe health problems and was in failing health. Bruce brought Wilber back to his apartment in Raleigh and hired a nurse. Wilber died right before Christmas, the problems between he and Bruce talked out and accepted for what they were and how they happened.
Half of Bruce's heart had been set free. He went to Mark and Clora's for Christmas, and was a charming and gracious guest. A very different man, than he had been.
The man on a one person campaign to prove he most assuredly deserved better than a simple Italian woman, was Warren. Mark and Clora stood back out of the way and let the old fool run himself into the ground. Soon Warren was tired of Giselle, and the seven or eight ladies that captured his momentary interest, that quickly followed.
Try as he might to forget the chemistry that had happened between himself and Luce, Warren measured each lady's kisses against her kiss. They all lost, and during the dark hours of the night, Warren spent time he couldn't sleep pushing the woman out of his mind. Over and over he refused to consider she might be a good and true love. She was not the sophisticated and worldly women he deserved.
Warren was a bear to be around, and even Bruce was losing patience with the man. Warren couldn't stand himself, and it took a long time for him to come to that conclusion. He was old enough, he almost missed the boat with his stubborn antics.
At the beginning of the planting season, Mark, Benny and the two Wilson boys rented a trailer and went back to the hotel to retrieve the Kubota.. They let Chilly and Vic off at the crossroad, so the boys could go back and visit their homesteads. Both Wilson's had totally convinced one another that there were Wilson's there, just waiting for them to get home.
It was a terrible dose of reality to find the houses as empty and cold as they had been when the boys left. All the way there, they harbored hope that they had family.
On the way back, Mark talked to them about building the family they craved with the three cousins as the nucleus.
It was a hard pep talk to get through, and Mark wasn't sure they actually understood they were going to have to work for it. It wouldn't fall on them for free, nor could they expect Teresa to do it for them as their upbringing had taught them. The women in the Wilson clan had been in charge of making sure the men lived stress free; ready to hunt and fish whenever they felt the need. Most of the time that included not having a steady job.
"You do and will have, many obligations in this world." Mark stressed over and over, and it seemed like it was falling on deaf ears.
Robert had another leave coming; and he rolled in for a three day visit the end of August. The family got treated to a 'boy howdy wasn't that a kiss' demonstration when he opened the front door and hollered, "anybody home?"
Mandy was quicker than anyone thought possible; and their kiss sizzled. It was so good, they went for another, and then a third and finally Mark had to clear his throat loudly to get through the lover's fog. They were both contrite, but the love and the tension it created, was escalating.
Clora sighed. They had two more about ready to test their wings in the big world. A date was set for a Spring wedding. Mandy had her teaching degree and a promise of a job the following fall in the town next to LeJune. They had set a course for the beginning of their new life.
As summer ended, Teresa went to Cosmetology school, learning a work trade as Ben finished his two year mechanic's course. They often studied together at the kitchen table when supper was finished, under the watchful eyes of the family.
The Wilson boys were at odds and ends. They had taken their GED test and passed, and had absolutely no more idea than the man in the moon what they wanted to be or were interested in doing. It was Robert's visit that set them with the idea of joining the Marines.
Robert, Mark, Vic and Chilly went down to the recruiting station to get information. Robert didn't badger them and neither did Mark. Both boys listened, and signed up. They would leave in a week.
The party ended at midnight, leaving Warren and Bruce stranded with no way to get home. Warren finally called Toby to come get them, making Toby swear all the way down to South Carolina and back. Toby didn't know, didn't care what had happened at the party, but both his friends were acting weird and he was tempted to ask if there had been any witches present at the shindig.
Both Warren and Bruce would have answered in the affirmative, they had both been bewitched.
Bruce reported to the hospital for his first shift on Monday. That night, he knocked on the door of the resident Mental Health professional at five minutes to six, walked in and announced he needed fixed, so fix him. At the last moment he remembered to say please, he was in a hurry.
The Doctor had looked at Bruce, all six foot three inches of tightly wired neurosis, and swallowed hard. This wasn't going to be a fifteen minute job. Bruce was signed in, got his paperwork completed and sent home with an appointment for the next day.
So tired he could barely drag himself home, well not home, he thought; back to Mark and Clora's, Bruce ate supper and collapsed in his room to sleep. That was his routine for the next month. The only variation was when he went to talk to Dr. Ross about his problems.
Dr. Ross was used to helping type A, hard driven physicians deal with their lives. They were all like Bruce. Once they identified the problem, they wanted fixed and wanted it to happen yesterday; they had other things to do.
The problem was, if they needed fixed, it was necessary to go back to when the problem started. For Bruce, that was a very long time ago in a life he wanted to forget at all costs. Bruce Ammons was most likely the hardest patient Dr. Ross had encountered.
As more information surfaced about Tricia, Dr. Ross marveled at how wise the young woman had been. She left the healing up to Bruce, it was his decision to heal or not to heal; his decision to take them forward or simply forget each other. There was no more Dr. Bruce, the person that didn't deserve what life had handed out to him. No more being a victim, no whining, no more flying off the handle, no more jumping to conclusions and no more rages.
Another month went by, and Bruce got a small note card in the mail. It was a picture of the city where Tricia had gotten a job, included her address and inside she had written, 'thinking of you' and made a small smiley face next to her name.
It wasn't cold and impersonal, nor was it mushy, gooshy. It wasn't stress inducing or pushing Bruce faster than he could go. The wise doctor could tell Tricia really loved her man, enough so, that if he needed to leave; she would let him go.
Bruce had been very proud when he brought the card in for Emory Ross to read. "She trusts me enough to let me know where she is." and Bruce, the tightly wrapped package of anger and doubt practically danced around the room on tip toes.
Dr. Ross hid his smile and told Bruce to sit down, they had work to do. The note cards arrived like clockwork once a month, Tricia never varied the message and it was an affirmation to Bruce, that steadied him.
It was right before Thanksgiving that Bruce called his father, for the first time in more than twenty years. The elder Ammons still in the small red brick house that Bruce had left when he was seventeen. The old man cried on the phone and asked Bruce to come see him. Bruce agreed. It was the major part of his problems, the relationship he had with his father, that needed to be resolved.
Like all old men, Wilber Ammons had severe health problems and was in failing health. Bruce brought Wilber back to his apartment in Raleigh and hired a nurse. Wilber died right before Christmas, the problems between he and Bruce talked out and accepted for what they were and how they happened.
Half of Bruce's heart had been set free. He went to Mark and Clora's for Christmas, and was a charming and gracious guest. A very different man, than he had been.
The man on a one person campaign to prove he most assuredly deserved better than a simple Italian woman, was Warren. Mark and Clora stood back out of the way and let the old fool run himself into the ground. Soon Warren was tired of Giselle, and the seven or eight ladies that captured his momentary interest, that quickly followed.
Try as he might to forget the chemistry that had happened between himself and Luce, Warren measured each lady's kisses against her kiss. They all lost, and during the dark hours of the night, Warren spent time he couldn't sleep pushing the woman out of his mind. Over and over he refused to consider she might be a good and true love. She was not the sophisticated and worldly women he deserved.
Warren was a bear to be around, and even Bruce was losing patience with the man. Warren couldn't stand himself, and it took a long time for him to come to that conclusion. He was old enough, he almost missed the boat with his stubborn antics.
At the beginning of the planting season, Mark, Benny and the two Wilson boys rented a trailer and went back to the hotel to retrieve the Kubota.. They let Chilly and Vic off at the crossroad, so the boys could go back and visit their homesteads. Both Wilson's had totally convinced one another that there were Wilson's there, just waiting for them to get home.
It was a terrible dose of reality to find the houses as empty and cold as they had been when the boys left. All the way there, they harbored hope that they had family.
On the way back, Mark talked to them about building the family they craved with the three cousins as the nucleus.
It was a hard pep talk to get through, and Mark wasn't sure they actually understood they were going to have to work for it. It wouldn't fall on them for free, nor could they expect Teresa to do it for them as their upbringing had taught them. The women in the Wilson clan had been in charge of making sure the men lived stress free; ready to hunt and fish whenever they felt the need. Most of the time that included not having a steady job.
"You do and will have, many obligations in this world." Mark stressed over and over, and it seemed like it was falling on deaf ears.
Robert had another leave coming; and he rolled in for a three day visit the end of August. The family got treated to a 'boy howdy wasn't that a kiss' demonstration when he opened the front door and hollered, "anybody home?"
Mandy was quicker than anyone thought possible; and their kiss sizzled. It was so good, they went for another, and then a third and finally Mark had to clear his throat loudly to get through the lover's fog. They were both contrite, but the love and the tension it created, was escalating.
Clora sighed. They had two more about ready to test their wings in the big world. A date was set for a Spring wedding. Mandy had her teaching degree and a promise of a job the following fall in the town next to LeJune. They had set a course for the beginning of their new life.
As summer ended, Teresa went to Cosmetology school, learning a work trade as Ben finished his two year mechanic's course. They often studied together at the kitchen table when supper was finished, under the watchful eyes of the family.
The Wilson boys were at odds and ends. They had taken their GED test and passed, and had absolutely no more idea than the man in the moon what they wanted to be or were interested in doing. It was Robert's visit that set them with the idea of joining the Marines.
Robert, Mark, Vic and Chilly went down to the recruiting station to get information. Robert didn't badger them and neither did Mark. Both boys listened, and signed up. They would leave in a week.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you Pac, very good.
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#42d
There was, another unhappy member of the Linderman clan, besides Warren. Barrett Tobias Jepson Linderman had ahold of more lady than he could handle.
Toby thought he needed to be treated with care. He was a recovering, wounded man after all, stamped fragile on his forehead, and delicately held together with silken cords. He needed preferential treatment.
"Horse manure," Rennie spouted off in her Australian accent, sending shivers down Toby's spine.
After her one time crying episode, sweet natured, ultra feminine Rennie showed she had the grit and stamina of her ancestors that came loaded in the holds of the prison ships; determined not to die, just to spite the men that shipped them there.
Rennie had enough work with the upcoming trial that she had to have her mind on business, and she conferred with the office manager about an office of her own. There were several empty spaces she could have used, and for some reason the manager thought Rennie was so temporary, she didn't need a private office.
Toby got to work one Monday morning to find Rennie had turned her desk around, so she was facing the window.
Rennie used the weekends, working from six in the morning until ten or eleven at night to do her serious work, she wasn't handling the issue of Toby very well during the weekdays.
With Rennie's desk moved, Toby noticed the curves that fit on the office chair, and the straightness of her spine that softened into fatigue as the day wore on. Then there was the morning that Rennie looked like she had spent the night at her desk.
Toby walked in as Rennie was brushing her hair, getting ready to pin it up for the work day. Rennie had turned around to see who had come in, and she mumbled "good morning" with hair pins in her mouth.
Toby had flashbacks to Brenda and how he had watched her brush and loop her black hair to do the same thing and how mesmerized he had been, and what had happened next. Suddenly Toby was feeling overwhelmingly disloyal to Brenda's memory, watching another woman as she coiled and looped her strawberry blonde hair into lawyer, prim and proper severeness.
When Rennie had come into work the next morning, her desk was turned around in it's old position and a huge potted plant stood barrier in the line of sight between the desks.
Rennie waited until Toby had gone home for the afternoon, and moved her desk back where she wanted it. She wrestled with that stinking heavy potted plant and put it right next to Toby's desk so he had to work in it's shade.
The cat and mouse game continued all week, until Rennie conceded silently and worked to tie up all the loose ends of her case. The next Monday morning, she was in court with all her 'i's' dotted and her 't's' crossed and watched in horror as the husband burst in the court room and shot the children he and his wife were fighting over.
Rennie walked in the office three days later and sat at her desk, turned around to watch the torrential rains that were happening outside. Her sister had committed suicide the next day when her children died on life support. Her brother in law died in an exchange of gunfire with the bailiff, her parents had flown in from Sydney and her mother was in the hospital, sick with grief. Rennie's strong father was stoic and closed off, and her other sister was flying in with the baby that had been too sick to come with his Mum. Rennie had prayed and cried until she had no more tears.
Abbigail was coming to the office with Duncan, the three month old preemie baby. Abby had semesters as soon as she could get back, her schooling tests had to be finished. Rennie had already filed petitions to be Duncan's guardian, and she understood that was going to make her parents very upset.
Rennie needed that baby. She needed to hold that small child close to her heart and feel him move and need to be fed and have his nappie changed. Rennie was a woman with more love to give than she could hold inside herself.
Abby came charging in with Duncan just as Toby and TJ were walking in. It was bring your child to work day in the family oriented law practice.
Abby dumped Duncan's large amount of stuff on the floor, shoved the airline mandated car seat in Rennie's hands and left shouting over her shoulder, "I'm going to miss my flight."
Rennie unbuckled Duncan from his car seat, spread a blanket on the floor behind her desk and changed Dunc's nappie. There was half a bottle that Duncan was demanding and Rennie settled him in close, feeding the now orphan child with tears running down her face.
There was a soft pat on her arm, and she turned her head to see that the small thin boy that had come in with Toby, was standing very close to her, watching Duncan very intently. He pantomimed to her and then the baby, asking if Duncan was hers. She shook her head no. Then he pointed to her tears and then to Duncan and she nodded yes.
TJ leaned over her arm, pointing to the bottle and then himself. Rennie wasn't sure what he meant, but she nodded and he reached to hold the bottle. Rennie moved her arm, curving it around the small child, hugging him in close. TJ made a small noise of contentment and gave her a smile. He looked just like Toby, she decided.
The little guy must have gotten ready with his Daddy this morning, she could smell Toby's after shave on the boy.
In a soft low voice, Rennie started telling TJ about living in Australia, with the different animals and the hot outback and the water where they went surfing and the sharks. Pretty quick, TJ was leaning close to Rennie and crying as hard as she was.
Heads together, they snuggled close and that's the way Toby found them when he missed his son. The boy who was supposed to be coloring on the floor, next to his Daddy's desk.
Toby got weak kneed when he saw TJ's tears, they had been waiting for the boy to cry, opening up his emotions to talk about the hurt Meg had caused. TJ hadn't spoken since that day, and the child psychologist told them he probably wouldn't, until he could weep away the thoughts in his mind.
Toby stood up, intending to go get his wayward boy, when TJ crawled up on Rennie's lap and she held him tight, whispering a small child's lullaby and rocking them gently back and forth.
Toby was thinking he owed Ms. Cooper the big one for helping TJ. She had accomplished what he couldn't do. For a second he almost felt jealous, he had tried so hard to reach TJ and she did it so effortlessly.
A whole hour passed without interruption from the outside world. Duncan eating and sleeping as he wanted, TJ crying as he wanted and Rennie loosing her self in a harmless little fantasy of still having a family to love. She cried too, and TJ wiped them away. TJ was asking all kinds of questions that Rennie didn't want to answer and she pretended to misunderstand.
TJ was shaking his head no and wagging his finger in a 'no' way, he didn't want her to do that. "I'm sorry child, there are some things I can't talk about yet," Rennie whispered. TJ patted his chest and nodded. Now he understood.
Toby was leaning back in his chair, watching the small group love and comfort each other, when the door opened noiselessly and Mark walked in. Mark watched Toby make a quiet motion, and he looked at the bleak expression on Toby's face. Toby pointed to the scene on the backside of the other desk, and Mark could hear a baby, TJ crying and a low melodious woman's voice half whispering a nursery rhyme.
There was, another unhappy member of the Linderman clan, besides Warren. Barrett Tobias Jepson Linderman had ahold of more lady than he could handle.
Toby thought he needed to be treated with care. He was a recovering, wounded man after all, stamped fragile on his forehead, and delicately held together with silken cords. He needed preferential treatment.
"Horse manure," Rennie spouted off in her Australian accent, sending shivers down Toby's spine.
After her one time crying episode, sweet natured, ultra feminine Rennie showed she had the grit and stamina of her ancestors that came loaded in the holds of the prison ships; determined not to die, just to spite the men that shipped them there.
Rennie had enough work with the upcoming trial that she had to have her mind on business, and she conferred with the office manager about an office of her own. There were several empty spaces she could have used, and for some reason the manager thought Rennie was so temporary, she didn't need a private office.
Toby got to work one Monday morning to find Rennie had turned her desk around, so she was facing the window.
Rennie used the weekends, working from six in the morning until ten or eleven at night to do her serious work, she wasn't handling the issue of Toby very well during the weekdays.
With Rennie's desk moved, Toby noticed the curves that fit on the office chair, and the straightness of her spine that softened into fatigue as the day wore on. Then there was the morning that Rennie looked like she had spent the night at her desk.
Toby walked in as Rennie was brushing her hair, getting ready to pin it up for the work day. Rennie had turned around to see who had come in, and she mumbled "good morning" with hair pins in her mouth.
Toby had flashbacks to Brenda and how he had watched her brush and loop her black hair to do the same thing and how mesmerized he had been, and what had happened next. Suddenly Toby was feeling overwhelmingly disloyal to Brenda's memory, watching another woman as she coiled and looped her strawberry blonde hair into lawyer, prim and proper severeness.
When Rennie had come into work the next morning, her desk was turned around in it's old position and a huge potted plant stood barrier in the line of sight between the desks.
Rennie waited until Toby had gone home for the afternoon, and moved her desk back where she wanted it. She wrestled with that stinking heavy potted plant and put it right next to Toby's desk so he had to work in it's shade.
The cat and mouse game continued all week, until Rennie conceded silently and worked to tie up all the loose ends of her case. The next Monday morning, she was in court with all her 'i's' dotted and her 't's' crossed and watched in horror as the husband burst in the court room and shot the children he and his wife were fighting over.
Rennie walked in the office three days later and sat at her desk, turned around to watch the torrential rains that were happening outside. Her sister had committed suicide the next day when her children died on life support. Her brother in law died in an exchange of gunfire with the bailiff, her parents had flown in from Sydney and her mother was in the hospital, sick with grief. Rennie's strong father was stoic and closed off, and her other sister was flying in with the baby that had been too sick to come with his Mum. Rennie had prayed and cried until she had no more tears.
Abbigail was coming to the office with Duncan, the three month old preemie baby. Abby had semesters as soon as she could get back, her schooling tests had to be finished. Rennie had already filed petitions to be Duncan's guardian, and she understood that was going to make her parents very upset.
Rennie needed that baby. She needed to hold that small child close to her heart and feel him move and need to be fed and have his nappie changed. Rennie was a woman with more love to give than she could hold inside herself.
Abby came charging in with Duncan just as Toby and TJ were walking in. It was bring your child to work day in the family oriented law practice.
Abby dumped Duncan's large amount of stuff on the floor, shoved the airline mandated car seat in Rennie's hands and left shouting over her shoulder, "I'm going to miss my flight."
Rennie unbuckled Duncan from his car seat, spread a blanket on the floor behind her desk and changed Dunc's nappie. There was half a bottle that Duncan was demanding and Rennie settled him in close, feeding the now orphan child with tears running down her face.
There was a soft pat on her arm, and she turned her head to see that the small thin boy that had come in with Toby, was standing very close to her, watching Duncan very intently. He pantomimed to her and then the baby, asking if Duncan was hers. She shook her head no. Then he pointed to her tears and then to Duncan and she nodded yes.
TJ leaned over her arm, pointing to the bottle and then himself. Rennie wasn't sure what he meant, but she nodded and he reached to hold the bottle. Rennie moved her arm, curving it around the small child, hugging him in close. TJ made a small noise of contentment and gave her a smile. He looked just like Toby, she decided.
The little guy must have gotten ready with his Daddy this morning, she could smell Toby's after shave on the boy.
In a soft low voice, Rennie started telling TJ about living in Australia, with the different animals and the hot outback and the water where they went surfing and the sharks. Pretty quick, TJ was leaning close to Rennie and crying as hard as she was.
Heads together, they snuggled close and that's the way Toby found them when he missed his son. The boy who was supposed to be coloring on the floor, next to his Daddy's desk.
Toby got weak kneed when he saw TJ's tears, they had been waiting for the boy to cry, opening up his emotions to talk about the hurt Meg had caused. TJ hadn't spoken since that day, and the child psychologist told them he probably wouldn't, until he could weep away the thoughts in his mind.
Toby stood up, intending to go get his wayward boy, when TJ crawled up on Rennie's lap and she held him tight, whispering a small child's lullaby and rocking them gently back and forth.
Toby was thinking he owed Ms. Cooper the big one for helping TJ. She had accomplished what he couldn't do. For a second he almost felt jealous, he had tried so hard to reach TJ and she did it so effortlessly.
A whole hour passed without interruption from the outside world. Duncan eating and sleeping as he wanted, TJ crying as he wanted and Rennie loosing her self in a harmless little fantasy of still having a family to love. She cried too, and TJ wiped them away. TJ was asking all kinds of questions that Rennie didn't want to answer and she pretended to misunderstand.
TJ was shaking his head no and wagging his finger in a 'no' way, he didn't want her to do that. "I'm sorry child, there are some things I can't talk about yet," Rennie whispered. TJ patted his chest and nodded. Now he understood.
Toby was leaning back in his chair, watching the small group love and comfort each other, when the door opened noiselessly and Mark walked in. Mark watched Toby make a quiet motion, and he looked at the bleak expression on Toby's face. Toby pointed to the scene on the backside of the other desk, and Mark could hear a baby, TJ crying and a low melodious woman's voice half whispering a nursery rhyme.
Tckaija
One generation behind...
Oooooof!
Wonderful chapter dear Lady.... so moving....
Littles can do that to and for you...
My 2nd Granddaughter will be a year old in a couple days and she tries so hard to be part of the conversation too, does not have the words yet, but she still gets the meaning across... So often they just need the cuddling which can be so healing to our old, and jaded, hearts!
Thank You!
Wonderful chapter dear Lady.... so moving....
Littles can do that to and for you...
My 2nd Granddaughter will be a year old in a couple days and she tries so hard to be part of the conversation too, does not have the words yet, but she still gets the meaning across... So often they just need the cuddling which can be so healing to our old, and jaded, hearts!
Thank You!
Concur, 100%... Methinks there's a lot of that goin' 'round...
GBY&Y's
Maranatha
OldARcher
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Awww, thank you Pac.
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
I have been thinking about choices.
We are so terribly wondrous made in God's image, held together by the complicated inside and the smooth outside. All in amazing, fantastic glory. To our magnificent cohesion, comes our human inability to think straight and make good decisions.
I own a life time of decisions/choices that I have made. 99 percent of them wrong. Left to my own devices, I would probably choose wrong a hundred percent of the time. That is so fascinating to me. A perfect record of being wrong. That's my reasoning for needing God in my life. He has had a big job getting me through my years.
I pray, I listen, I act, I wait for enlightenment, and I'm usually wrong. Writing this story is power. I can make the characters do, say and act anyway I want, and usually I find them making wrong choices, just as I would.
Perfectly made in His image, imperfect at trying to be reasoning and choose wisely. Ahh humans, what a delight we are.
A very wise person once told me that we all make mistakes. If you have learned not to make that mistake the second time, then there should be no regrets. You have earned the lesson well. And I say 'earned as in acquiring by experience' rather than learned, that comes from someone else's actions.
I have a great interest in people and why they think and act as they do. Most of the clan seems to be making good choices right at the moment, living is always easier when there are no ambushes, the food grows with rain, there are hands to help and you find a special person to share your life with. What we would all like to script in our life. Pac.
We are so terribly wondrous made in God's image, held together by the complicated inside and the smooth outside. All in amazing, fantastic glory. To our magnificent cohesion, comes our human inability to think straight and make good decisions.
I own a life time of decisions/choices that I have made. 99 percent of them wrong. Left to my own devices, I would probably choose wrong a hundred percent of the time. That is so fascinating to me. A perfect record of being wrong. That's my reasoning for needing God in my life. He has had a big job getting me through my years.
I pray, I listen, I act, I wait for enlightenment, and I'm usually wrong. Writing this story is power. I can make the characters do, say and act anyway I want, and usually I find them making wrong choices, just as I would.
Perfectly made in His image, imperfect at trying to be reasoning and choose wisely. Ahh humans, what a delight we are.
A very wise person once told me that we all make mistakes. If you have learned not to make that mistake the second time, then there should be no regrets. You have earned the lesson well. And I say 'earned as in acquiring by experience' rather than learned, that comes from someone else's actions.
I have a great interest in people and why they think and act as they do. Most of the clan seems to be making good choices right at the moment, living is always easier when there are no ambushes, the food grows with rain, there are hands to help and you find a special person to share your life with. What we would all like to script in our life. Pac.
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PacNorWest
Veteran Member
Old Archer;
In your journey through the land of regrets, how many times have you repeated the same mistake? That's the reason for confession and absolvement. God knows we need it. He also doesn't want us living and feeding our regrets to the point they overtake us in thought word and deed. That's the loving grace He floods us with, like the sunshine that comes to the land to warm us, with the rain He sends to grow us. We Have An Awesome God!
In your journey through the land of regrets, how many times have you repeated the same mistake? That's the reason for confession and absolvement. God knows we need it. He also doesn't want us living and feeding our regrets to the point they overtake us in thought word and deed. That's the loving grace He floods us with, like the sunshine that comes to the land to warm us, with the rain He sends to grow us. We Have An Awesome God!
Siskiyoumom
Veteran Member
Thank you for the additions to your very moving and educational story.
As we walk our walk we do make choices that can be out of alignment with the Lord our God.
Yet, He is always there to guide us in the aftermath.
And He redeems the broken hearted, the downtrodden, the wayward, the humble and the proud.
He can and does turn our lives upside down and sideways sometimes to get us back on track.
Having made plenty of "wrong" choices in my life because I was unwilling to heed His call, I have seen the healing power of His love and concern for me and many others.
Woundedness caused by harm done to us by others, and harm done to us by ourselves can be a very harrowing path to walk.
And yet, time and time again I have seen His wonderous healing and redemption.
I am finding that I am called to turn away from many things that are just not right for me to read, to watch, to listen to, and focus on my walk which has been shaky at times.
I continue to be blessed by the care, love, and genuine concern of others who get up each day and continue on despite the troubles in their lives and families.
Forgiveness has been an ongoing thorn in my life.
And that thorn when pulled out leaves a surging of blood and puss and ungratefulness.
When I first began the journey of forgiving those who so deeply wounded me both physically and mentally I was so fortunate to have a trained counselor who was grounded in the word of the Lord God, as well as trained in working with survivors.
He clearly told me that forgiveness was not a "feeling" but an act of submission to the scriptures and the Lord's plan. He said, "You may at some point "feel" the forgiveness, but first do it as an act of submission to God."
Seventy times seven comes to mind. He also said, "Forgiveness means you are releasing the one who harmed you to the Lord God. And leave that sorrow, pain, shame, and hurt at the foot of the cross."
He followed that up with "Forgiveness does not mean that the one who harmed you should ever be allowed to continue to harm you. You have a sound mind to set the boundaries you need to be kept safe."
My heart aches for your character Bruce. He not only has his childhood hurts but the added burden of being demonically oppressed. I look forward to the changes you have in store for him.
As we walk our walk we do make choices that can be out of alignment with the Lord our God.
Yet, He is always there to guide us in the aftermath.
And He redeems the broken hearted, the downtrodden, the wayward, the humble and the proud.
He can and does turn our lives upside down and sideways sometimes to get us back on track.
Having made plenty of "wrong" choices in my life because I was unwilling to heed His call, I have seen the healing power of His love and concern for me and many others.
Woundedness caused by harm done to us by others, and harm done to us by ourselves can be a very harrowing path to walk.
And yet, time and time again I have seen His wonderous healing and redemption.
I am finding that I am called to turn away from many things that are just not right for me to read, to watch, to listen to, and focus on my walk which has been shaky at times.
I continue to be blessed by the care, love, and genuine concern of others who get up each day and continue on despite the troubles in their lives and families.
Forgiveness has been an ongoing thorn in my life.
And that thorn when pulled out leaves a surging of blood and puss and ungratefulness.
When I first began the journey of forgiving those who so deeply wounded me both physically and mentally I was so fortunate to have a trained counselor who was grounded in the word of the Lord God, as well as trained in working with survivors.
He clearly told me that forgiveness was not a "feeling" but an act of submission to the scriptures and the Lord's plan. He said, "You may at some point "feel" the forgiveness, but first do it as an act of submission to God."
Seventy times seven comes to mind. He also said, "Forgiveness means you are releasing the one who harmed you to the Lord God. And leave that sorrow, pain, shame, and hurt at the foot of the cross."
He followed that up with "Forgiveness does not mean that the one who harmed you should ever be allowed to continue to harm you. You have a sound mind to set the boundaries you need to be kept safe."
My heart aches for your character Bruce. He not only has his childhood hurts but the added burden of being demonically oppressed. I look forward to the changes you have in store for him.
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#43
Mark motioned Toby to follow him out into the hall. He checked the corridor before he would let Toby all the way out, and they left the office door slightly ajar. Walking down a ways to the door less wall, Mark dropped his voice and told Toby that two men were gunning for Rennie Cooper.
"Her now dead brother in law has two brothers that have sworn revenge, picking her as the focus for their hate. We are offering the safety of the retreat; do you think she will come? And how in the world did she get TJ to cry?"
Toby shrugged. "I haven't said ten words to her Dad, I don't know her at all. I don't know if she would trust us or not. I think the baby in there is the dead woman's three month old preemie. At least that's what she told TJ, and I was listening. As for getting him to cry, she is, and I think that triggered his response. She doesn't even know his name, she calls him child."
"Many blessings on her for her sympathetic care," Mark said softly. "How long has TJ been crying and do you want to interrupt them? The sooner we go, the better. I got word from the Marshall's service about an hour ago that the men were headed this way from Georgia."
"It's been about an hour," Toby looked at his watch. "I'll go talk to her, and see what she says. She seems pretty protective of the baby and TJ, so here's hoping."
Toby walked in the room and went around to kneel in front of Rennie. She had her eyes closed, whisper singing a song and both the baby and TJ were held tightly against her. TJ had his eyes closed, but he was still crying.
Toby tapped her on the back of the hand, to get her attention. The whispers stopped, and Rennie opened her eyes. TJ made a sound of protest and opened his eyes and pushed at Toby, to make him go away.
"No child," Rennie stopped TJ's hands. "Do not push yer Da, that's not right." TJ turned his face deep into Rennie's shoulder and closed his eyes again. Toby couldn't stop the flash of hurt across his face and Rennie sleepily touched his cheek with her fingertips. "He loves ya, he's just scared." she said in her sleep thickened voice, her accent making the words hard to understand.
"Rennie, we have a bad situation developing with Gordon's family. They are looking to do a revenge killing." Toby said in a low voice. "My Dad is a US Marshall and we would like you to come to our place for protection. He is here in the office behind you and will show you his identification so you can be sure. His Dad is Warren Donaldson, so we can get the law firm to vouch for us. But we have to go, and go now." Toby sat back to give her time to process the situation.
Rennie blinked her eyes twice and spoke softly to TJ. "Child, it's time for you to be mindin yer Da. I'm comin with, and we will cuddle when we get there."
TJ was anything but happy about the whole matter, but both Dad and Grandpa were there to insist he behave. "I'd say leave everything but the car seat. We have all kinds of baby stuff at home, or can get more." Mark was planning. "Going from the building to the car will be the most danger, and there's no way to get the car any closer than it is right now. "I'll take TJ and put him in the back on the floor, Toby will take the baby in the car seat, and you grab whatever you need and be ready to run."
They got TJ peeled off Rennie and she strapped the baby in. They had been so warm that the front of Rennie was drenched with sweat, and Toby offered her sweater with out staring at her.
"Thank you," she gathered up her purse, phone and the diaper bag, and was clear eyed ready. They made the transfer, put the baby and car seat on the floor and had Rennie lay down and covered her with a blanket. It wasn't ten seconds and TJ was wiggling around trying to get on the seat and be close to her.
"So your name is TJ, what does that stand for? Train Johnson?" Rennie played a guessing game with Toby's son, keeping the boy occupied while they drove to where ever they were going.
Out of town and with several maneuvers to insure they weren't being followed, Rennie was allowed to sit up, as Toby tried to explain what she would find at the retreat. "We are a big family, lots of kids, dogs and Ma. We have a perfect place, it has an atrium in the center of the building where you can sit in the sunshine and not be exposed outside. And we will ask that you not show your self outside, to keep the risk down for the family."
Rennie nodded. "I do need to call my father, to let him know I am alright and that Duncan got here and Abby is on her way home. Also, my mother is in the hospital, is there something that can be done to protect her?"
Toby noticed that she had called him a Da, but she was way more formal when talking about her parents. That was just a small thing to remember.
"We'll get you clothes, in case you're worried. I'm assuming you have an apartment?" Mark asked and both he and Toby were instantly concerned when Rennie named off the same complex that Toby had lived in.
"It belongs to my parents, they stayed there when ever they were here to visit Susan and her family." Rennie said easily, but both Toby and Mark noticed she didn't say they came to visit her.
I will need a few things, and I'm sorry to be a bother." Rennie was apologizing and she reached her hand to keep TJ from patting her on the chest. She looked at him until TJ looked at her, then she shook her head no. Toby was watching the two out of the corner of his eye and he didn't quite understand what was going on.
It was necessary to turn around and watch out the back window, and that way he could monitor whatever it was that TJ was up to.
"Your not buckled in son, you know that's the rule," Toby was firm. "Do you need to loose a privilege to help you remember?"
TJ shook no, and buckled up immediately. Dad looked like he might keep him away from the woman, and TJ didn't want that.
The rest of the trip went smoothly, and the precious cargo unloaded into the protection of the house.
Bruce felt like he had been working day and night. There were hundreds of tonsils, appendixes, broken arms and legs, splinters, all needed to be removed smoothly and competently. He said not a word about a surgeon of his stature working on surgery 101, he worked hard putting together his credits. When the chief Medical officer of the hospital ran down the new hire list, he asked about the name that had put his younger brother back together after a roadside bomb had dismembered most of kid.
Could this be the same Doctor Bruce Ammons that was so immensely talented? It was, and Bruce was immediately kicked up stairs to put together more difficult cases. The work load was heavier, and one of the first causalities was the second session with Dr. Ross on Thursdays.
As the work became more challenging and complicated, the Tuesday sessions were cancelled. Soon, the pile of mail on Bruce's kitchen table contained two unopened cards sent from Wisconsin. Bruce was swamped with work and unsurprisingly, slipping back into his bad habits. The first time he snapped at a nurse and the rebuke went unchallenged, the second biting admonishment was easier.
Mark motioned Toby to follow him out into the hall. He checked the corridor before he would let Toby all the way out, and they left the office door slightly ajar. Walking down a ways to the door less wall, Mark dropped his voice and told Toby that two men were gunning for Rennie Cooper.
"Her now dead brother in law has two brothers that have sworn revenge, picking her as the focus for their hate. We are offering the safety of the retreat; do you think she will come? And how in the world did she get TJ to cry?"
Toby shrugged. "I haven't said ten words to her Dad, I don't know her at all. I don't know if she would trust us or not. I think the baby in there is the dead woman's three month old preemie. At least that's what she told TJ, and I was listening. As for getting him to cry, she is, and I think that triggered his response. She doesn't even know his name, she calls him child."
"Many blessings on her for her sympathetic care," Mark said softly. "How long has TJ been crying and do you want to interrupt them? The sooner we go, the better. I got word from the Marshall's service about an hour ago that the men were headed this way from Georgia."
"It's been about an hour," Toby looked at his watch. "I'll go talk to her, and see what she says. She seems pretty protective of the baby and TJ, so here's hoping."
Toby walked in the room and went around to kneel in front of Rennie. She had her eyes closed, whisper singing a song and both the baby and TJ were held tightly against her. TJ had his eyes closed, but he was still crying.
Toby tapped her on the back of the hand, to get her attention. The whispers stopped, and Rennie opened her eyes. TJ made a sound of protest and opened his eyes and pushed at Toby, to make him go away.
"No child," Rennie stopped TJ's hands. "Do not push yer Da, that's not right." TJ turned his face deep into Rennie's shoulder and closed his eyes again. Toby couldn't stop the flash of hurt across his face and Rennie sleepily touched his cheek with her fingertips. "He loves ya, he's just scared." she said in her sleep thickened voice, her accent making the words hard to understand.
"Rennie, we have a bad situation developing with Gordon's family. They are looking to do a revenge killing." Toby said in a low voice. "My Dad is a US Marshall and we would like you to come to our place for protection. He is here in the office behind you and will show you his identification so you can be sure. His Dad is Warren Donaldson, so we can get the law firm to vouch for us. But we have to go, and go now." Toby sat back to give her time to process the situation.
Rennie blinked her eyes twice and spoke softly to TJ. "Child, it's time for you to be mindin yer Da. I'm comin with, and we will cuddle when we get there."
TJ was anything but happy about the whole matter, but both Dad and Grandpa were there to insist he behave. "I'd say leave everything but the car seat. We have all kinds of baby stuff at home, or can get more." Mark was planning. "Going from the building to the car will be the most danger, and there's no way to get the car any closer than it is right now. "I'll take TJ and put him in the back on the floor, Toby will take the baby in the car seat, and you grab whatever you need and be ready to run."
They got TJ peeled off Rennie and she strapped the baby in. They had been so warm that the front of Rennie was drenched with sweat, and Toby offered her sweater with out staring at her.
"Thank you," she gathered up her purse, phone and the diaper bag, and was clear eyed ready. They made the transfer, put the baby and car seat on the floor and had Rennie lay down and covered her with a blanket. It wasn't ten seconds and TJ was wiggling around trying to get on the seat and be close to her.
"So your name is TJ, what does that stand for? Train Johnson?" Rennie played a guessing game with Toby's son, keeping the boy occupied while they drove to where ever they were going.
Out of town and with several maneuvers to insure they weren't being followed, Rennie was allowed to sit up, as Toby tried to explain what she would find at the retreat. "We are a big family, lots of kids, dogs and Ma. We have a perfect place, it has an atrium in the center of the building where you can sit in the sunshine and not be exposed outside. And we will ask that you not show your self outside, to keep the risk down for the family."
Rennie nodded. "I do need to call my father, to let him know I am alright and that Duncan got here and Abby is on her way home. Also, my mother is in the hospital, is there something that can be done to protect her?"
Toby noticed that she had called him a Da, but she was way more formal when talking about her parents. That was just a small thing to remember.
"We'll get you clothes, in case you're worried. I'm assuming you have an apartment?" Mark asked and both he and Toby were instantly concerned when Rennie named off the same complex that Toby had lived in.
"It belongs to my parents, they stayed there when ever they were here to visit Susan and her family." Rennie said easily, but both Toby and Mark noticed she didn't say they came to visit her.
I will need a few things, and I'm sorry to be a bother." Rennie was apologizing and she reached her hand to keep TJ from patting her on the chest. She looked at him until TJ looked at her, then she shook her head no. Toby was watching the two out of the corner of his eye and he didn't quite understand what was going on.
It was necessary to turn around and watch out the back window, and that way he could monitor whatever it was that TJ was up to.
"Your not buckled in son, you know that's the rule," Toby was firm. "Do you need to loose a privilege to help you remember?"
TJ shook no, and buckled up immediately. Dad looked like he might keep him away from the woman, and TJ didn't want that.
The rest of the trip went smoothly, and the precious cargo unloaded into the protection of the house.
Bruce felt like he had been working day and night. There were hundreds of tonsils, appendixes, broken arms and legs, splinters, all needed to be removed smoothly and competently. He said not a word about a surgeon of his stature working on surgery 101, he worked hard putting together his credits. When the chief Medical officer of the hospital ran down the new hire list, he asked about the name that had put his younger brother back together after a roadside bomb had dismembered most of kid.
Could this be the same Doctor Bruce Ammons that was so immensely talented? It was, and Bruce was immediately kicked up stairs to put together more difficult cases. The work load was heavier, and one of the first causalities was the second session with Dr. Ross on Thursdays.
As the work became more challenging and complicated, the Tuesday sessions were cancelled. Soon, the pile of mail on Bruce's kitchen table contained two unopened cards sent from Wisconsin. Bruce was swamped with work and unsurprisingly, slipping back into his bad habits. The first time he snapped at a nurse and the rebuke went unchallenged, the second biting admonishment was easier.
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thank you Pac, it sounds like Bruce is slipping back to his old self, to bad I was hoping he had stepped over to the good side.
Wayne
Wayne
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#43b
It took less than two months to undue Dr. Bruce and his self improvement challenge. Soon there were four cards unopened on the table, and Bruce usually was home no earlier that 10:30 pm; and back at the hospital by 6am. It was ego pleasing music to his ears to hear the grateful thanks of families when he put their loved ones back together after accidents.
The first time he thought black thoughts about Tricia and how he was sure she was a better nurse than a doctor, he felt slightly guilty. But in a while it went away. One free afternoon, he decided to have a cleaning frenzy, and he swept all the mail into the garbage and put it in the apartment dumpster.
The discarded mail contained his electric, gas, water and rent notices. Bruce didn't care, let them shut everything off, he said aloud and got a bottle of water, slugged it down and went in to sleep. Lately he was so tired when he woke up, and he was having trouble hearing the alarm in the morning. Last week he had been late two times.
It was Sunday morning and the first day off in three months. Bruce had lost so much weight, that when the doorbell rang, he stood up and had to grab for his pajama bottoms as they slid to the floor.
Toby rang the bell and when Bruce didn't answer, he figured the Doc to be gone. He was half way down the hall when Bruce poked his head out the door and snarled a greeting. Toby stopped and slowly turned around. He wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with the 'old' Bruce, but they needed a favor.
Ma had been saying that Bruce was backsliding and Toby had hated to hear the news; but the way Bruce looked, she was accurate.
Bruce opened the door and turned around to walk back to the table. Toby stared at the damming evidence. There were scratch marks running down Bruce's back, the type usually made by a lady with long fingernails in the throes of passion.
"Dammit it Bruce, I thought you were smarter than that." Toby was disgusted and he didn't mind letting Bruce know.
"Huh?" Bruce took a water from the fridge and held it up, "ya want one?"
"No I don't, that's drugged water. Look at you, I bet you've lost fifty pounds and have you seen what your back looks like? Bruce, do I have to spell it out for you?"
"You're not making any sense, I don't feel anything wrong with my back."
"Go in the bathroom and look, and you'd better check another place while your at it. Bruce, the cult is drugging you."
"Nah, I've just been working hard. Holy ####, how'd that get on my back?" Bruce got a look at the deep scratches raked into his skin. In the pale yellow light of the single bulb in the light fixture that wasn't burned out, the fresh and not even scabbed over splits in his skin were glaringly visible.
"Their working you alright, all night and you don't even know it, do you? I told you there was no enjoyment, just a left over dirty feeling. But you just had to find out for your self; well you had better check your self for disease Buddy, the way you look their using you hard."
Toby walked over and took the water out of Bruce's hand and tasted a tiny sip. "Just like before, go ahead and drink it if you want to stay drugged, but I'll tell ya, if the hospital pulls a surprise drug test on you, you'll flunk hands down. Come stay at the house and we'll dry you out." Toby invited.
"God help you if you make a mistake in the operating room and you test positive, you'll never be a doctor again."
That finally got through to Bruce.
"Call in and tell them your mother is dying or something, lets get you back on the straight and narrow."
Bruce looked longingly at the tainted water in Toby's hand, it was so habit forming he really wanted to finish the last of it. Toby poured it down the drain.
"This place is such a pig sty, have you thought to look for cameras and recording devices. They have to be able to tell when you zonk out, so they can come get you. God Bruce, I thought once was enough of this kind of crap."
Toby got Bruce out to the retreat before the withdrawals started, all the women were forbidden to go near his room and the unearthly howls of the locked in man detoxing cold turkey ran chills down the normal people.
They gave him all the coffee and tea he would drink, gave him a bucket to use for his waste and fed him foods that absorbed as much of the poison as possible. Mark was thin lipped as he and Toby sweat the mind altering drugs from Bruce's body. One of the scratches got infected and Bruce nearly had a bout with Mersa.
"Did you see Dad, he's got a double pentagram. I wonder what that means?" Toby casually remarked.
"I believe that's a hundred visits," Mark said absently, "or in other wards we don't want to know."
"How do you know these things?" Toby questioned with a puzzled look. Then it was a ... "Ohhh, really?"
Mark turned a dark look at Toby. "I was not always the sweet loveable father that I am today. Those that play and work out in the world, live by the world's rules. They don't favor nice people. Your Grandfather has a mark also, so he's been a busy boy at one time. It's common for them to pick a trait or particular 'look' and get as much mileage as possible out of it."
"Sweet loveable father," Toby repeated, snorting. Mark had just sharpened his teeth on Bruce's hapless hide, and the feeble doctor was attempting a stumbling run around the track in the exercise room. As a precaution, there were always two of them with Bruce when he was out of his room, one of the hallmarks of the drugs was a almost superhuman strength and a total disregard for personal safety. They blew a whistle to clear the house and hallway when walking the doctor out to the exercise room and then threw him in the sauna to sweat more poison out.
It was working, fifteen days into the rehab and Bruce had clearer eyes.
Toby went in to work every day, and they hadn't noticed any strangers lurking around the retreat or the law office. "That's a favorite war game tactic," Mark instructed Toby. "waiting out your opponent until he gets lax and sloppy. They'll get impatient one of these days and show their hand."
Toby got a call the next day before he went to work. His office had been broken into and the stuffed bunny that had been left during the hurried evacuation had been gutted and the stuffing strewn about the room.
"That's their warning," Mark acknowledged the first shot fired. "Say, what's the matter with TJ, I can't believe he is acting the way he is.?"
"Do you want the long, complicated version, or the short, complicated version?" Toby stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "He's furious with me. Rennie is feeding the baby naturally and TJ wants to also. That's the long and the short of it. Rennie did ask me beforehand, and I appreciate her acknowledging me as TJ parent. I don't think it's a good idea. He is already extremely dependent on her, and that would make it worse when she leaves. I'm hoping eventually these creeps are caught; and then she'll leave." Toby shrugged, Rennie was abiding by his decision, but TJ was not.
"I wondered the day we picked them up out of your office, huh." was all Mark said.
"The little stinker is supposed to be in school with Mandy, she's teaching him to sign; but he skips out and goes looking for Rennie. Especially if she is asleep, he'll sneak in and rob some. She's having an awful time with that baby. I think she and Ma have tried every trick they know and the little bugger is not thriving well. I had hoped nasty Bruce would be able to examine him, but that jerk is still out in left field."
"Have you noticed that she won't tell her parents where they are. I get funny vibes from her behavior concerning them. What is her Dad, some important guy?"
"I don't know how important he is, but he is a diamond broker." Mark was watching Bruce , timing his laps.
"Dad, does your hinky meter ramp up about the idea they are staying in the same town home complex as I was." Toby questioned. "What if they were associated with those people?"
"Nothing registers. I'll tell you what, lets go ask Clora when were done here. That might be a valid concern."
It took less than two months to undue Dr. Bruce and his self improvement challenge. Soon there were four cards unopened on the table, and Bruce usually was home no earlier that 10:30 pm; and back at the hospital by 6am. It was ego pleasing music to his ears to hear the grateful thanks of families when he put their loved ones back together after accidents.
The first time he thought black thoughts about Tricia and how he was sure she was a better nurse than a doctor, he felt slightly guilty. But in a while it went away. One free afternoon, he decided to have a cleaning frenzy, and he swept all the mail into the garbage and put it in the apartment dumpster.
The discarded mail contained his electric, gas, water and rent notices. Bruce didn't care, let them shut everything off, he said aloud and got a bottle of water, slugged it down and went in to sleep. Lately he was so tired when he woke up, and he was having trouble hearing the alarm in the morning. Last week he had been late two times.
It was Sunday morning and the first day off in three months. Bruce had lost so much weight, that when the doorbell rang, he stood up and had to grab for his pajama bottoms as they slid to the floor.
Toby rang the bell and when Bruce didn't answer, he figured the Doc to be gone. He was half way down the hall when Bruce poked his head out the door and snarled a greeting. Toby stopped and slowly turned around. He wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with the 'old' Bruce, but they needed a favor.
Ma had been saying that Bruce was backsliding and Toby had hated to hear the news; but the way Bruce looked, she was accurate.
Bruce opened the door and turned around to walk back to the table. Toby stared at the damming evidence. There were scratch marks running down Bruce's back, the type usually made by a lady with long fingernails in the throes of passion.
"Dammit it Bruce, I thought you were smarter than that." Toby was disgusted and he didn't mind letting Bruce know.
"Huh?" Bruce took a water from the fridge and held it up, "ya want one?"
"No I don't, that's drugged water. Look at you, I bet you've lost fifty pounds and have you seen what your back looks like? Bruce, do I have to spell it out for you?"
"You're not making any sense, I don't feel anything wrong with my back."
"Go in the bathroom and look, and you'd better check another place while your at it. Bruce, the cult is drugging you."
"Nah, I've just been working hard. Holy ####, how'd that get on my back?" Bruce got a look at the deep scratches raked into his skin. In the pale yellow light of the single bulb in the light fixture that wasn't burned out, the fresh and not even scabbed over splits in his skin were glaringly visible.
"Their working you alright, all night and you don't even know it, do you? I told you there was no enjoyment, just a left over dirty feeling. But you just had to find out for your self; well you had better check your self for disease Buddy, the way you look their using you hard."
Toby walked over and took the water out of Bruce's hand and tasted a tiny sip. "Just like before, go ahead and drink it if you want to stay drugged, but I'll tell ya, if the hospital pulls a surprise drug test on you, you'll flunk hands down. Come stay at the house and we'll dry you out." Toby invited.
"God help you if you make a mistake in the operating room and you test positive, you'll never be a doctor again."
That finally got through to Bruce.
"Call in and tell them your mother is dying or something, lets get you back on the straight and narrow."
Bruce looked longingly at the tainted water in Toby's hand, it was so habit forming he really wanted to finish the last of it. Toby poured it down the drain.
"This place is such a pig sty, have you thought to look for cameras and recording devices. They have to be able to tell when you zonk out, so they can come get you. God Bruce, I thought once was enough of this kind of crap."
Toby got Bruce out to the retreat before the withdrawals started, all the women were forbidden to go near his room and the unearthly howls of the locked in man detoxing cold turkey ran chills down the normal people.
They gave him all the coffee and tea he would drink, gave him a bucket to use for his waste and fed him foods that absorbed as much of the poison as possible. Mark was thin lipped as he and Toby sweat the mind altering drugs from Bruce's body. One of the scratches got infected and Bruce nearly had a bout with Mersa.
"Did you see Dad, he's got a double pentagram. I wonder what that means?" Toby casually remarked.
"I believe that's a hundred visits," Mark said absently, "or in other wards we don't want to know."
"How do you know these things?" Toby questioned with a puzzled look. Then it was a ... "Ohhh, really?"
Mark turned a dark look at Toby. "I was not always the sweet loveable father that I am today. Those that play and work out in the world, live by the world's rules. They don't favor nice people. Your Grandfather has a mark also, so he's been a busy boy at one time. It's common for them to pick a trait or particular 'look' and get as much mileage as possible out of it."
"Sweet loveable father," Toby repeated, snorting. Mark had just sharpened his teeth on Bruce's hapless hide, and the feeble doctor was attempting a stumbling run around the track in the exercise room. As a precaution, there were always two of them with Bruce when he was out of his room, one of the hallmarks of the drugs was a almost superhuman strength and a total disregard for personal safety. They blew a whistle to clear the house and hallway when walking the doctor out to the exercise room and then threw him in the sauna to sweat more poison out.
It was working, fifteen days into the rehab and Bruce had clearer eyes.
Toby went in to work every day, and they hadn't noticed any strangers lurking around the retreat or the law office. "That's a favorite war game tactic," Mark instructed Toby. "waiting out your opponent until he gets lax and sloppy. They'll get impatient one of these days and show their hand."
Toby got a call the next day before he went to work. His office had been broken into and the stuffed bunny that had been left during the hurried evacuation had been gutted and the stuffing strewn about the room.
"That's their warning," Mark acknowledged the first shot fired. "Say, what's the matter with TJ, I can't believe he is acting the way he is.?"
"Do you want the long, complicated version, or the short, complicated version?" Toby stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "He's furious with me. Rennie is feeding the baby naturally and TJ wants to also. That's the long and the short of it. Rennie did ask me beforehand, and I appreciate her acknowledging me as TJ parent. I don't think it's a good idea. He is already extremely dependent on her, and that would make it worse when she leaves. I'm hoping eventually these creeps are caught; and then she'll leave." Toby shrugged, Rennie was abiding by his decision, but TJ was not.
"I wondered the day we picked them up out of your office, huh." was all Mark said.
"The little stinker is supposed to be in school with Mandy, she's teaching him to sign; but he skips out and goes looking for Rennie. Especially if she is asleep, he'll sneak in and rob some. She's having an awful time with that baby. I think she and Ma have tried every trick they know and the little bugger is not thriving well. I had hoped nasty Bruce would be able to examine him, but that jerk is still out in left field."
"Have you noticed that she won't tell her parents where they are. I get funny vibes from her behavior concerning them. What is her Dad, some important guy?"
"I don't know how important he is, but he is a diamond broker." Mark was watching Bruce , timing his laps.
"Dad, does your hinky meter ramp up about the idea they are staying in the same town home complex as I was." Toby questioned. "What if they were associated with those people?"
"Nothing registers. I'll tell you what, lets go ask Clora when were done here. That might be a valid concern."
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thank you for more of your store Pac,
Wayne
Wayne
PacNorWest
Veteran Member
#43c
Mark posed the question to Clora at lunch, and got a "hum. I'll think on it." Then Mark realized Rennie was coming in the room and that was the reason for Clora's evasion.
"Could I sent a short list of things I need, with the next person going to town?" She asked and wandered over to wash her hands and set out plates and glasses. All the kids except TJ were in school and Lemmie and Hank were off to a doctor's appointment.
"Certainly, it will be either Dad or myself this afternoon," Toby replied. "Rennie, they made their first move. My office was broken into, some stuffed toys were gutted as a warning."
"Gordon's family was very strange; highly secretive, always staring and whispering when we were near, the one brother in law almost broke Susan's ribs giving her such a hard hug. They were just edgy enough that they kept us all off balance. The kind of men that make a person feel very uncomfortable," Rennie commented.
"Did they ever come visit at your folk's town home?" Mark asked.
"Not while I was there, but then I usually hung out with friends or went to a motel when Mother and Father were in the States. I'm sure Gordon was there plenty of times. Somebody always went through my things, so I have no idea who that might have been. I really dislike the idea of people snooping through my drawers," she said with a little heat, "That's annoying." Rennie had been sitting on a stool and she got down and fished in her pocket for a green plastic vial. "I almost forgot about my vitamins, is this a familiar brand here in the States? Susan would get them for me so they must be available around here close."
"Dear God," Toby shouted out as she handed him the container, "that's the same brand that Christy took."
"The baby," Clora gasped, "that's the problem. I can't believe I didn't find that."
Mark swore and Rennie was looking from one of them to the other. "I don't understand," she said in puzzlement, "what is happening?"
Clora took Rennie's hand and had her sit down. "Rennie," she started gently, "we haven't asked before, but tell us about your husband and child. I will tie this all together in a minute, so you can understand."
Rennie got white faced and Toby moved closer to catch her if she fell. "I met Eldon here in the States on a previous trip to argue a case for my father. We liked each other, got married and had Jamie." she shrugged, "pretty normal stuff actually." and then she coughed with emotion, and looked toward the atrium.
"Jamie, boy or girl?" Clora softly probed.
"Boy, he started off strong and healthy and then we had problems such as Duncan is having. He got awfully thin before I completely stopped eating anything but totally organic food, I didn't take these vitamins either. They were a late addition given me by Susan, she swore by them as they help increase...milk." Rennie added, kind of embarrassed to be talking about such matters in front of strange gentlemen.
Clora patted her arm in encouragement. "Rennie, it has been our experience that this particular brand of vitamins are poisoned. Did Jamie thrive or begin to wither, when you started taking them?"
"He never regained the healthy start that he had in the beginning, but then Eldon and I weren't here during most of my pregnancy. Eldon was a fish biologist and we spent almost the whole nine months in Yellowstone where he was studying some fish. Susan sent vitamins for Eldon to take, when she found out we were going to try for another child. Please tell me what's going on?" Rennie's voice got a little shrill, and TJ came running in to see if she was OK.
Rennie lifted him up to her lap and he snuggled in her arms. Toby was watching his son closely, and when the little stinker would have patted Rennie's chest, Toby stopped him with a word. "Do you want to get down?" and Rennie captured the little wayward hand and held it gently. TJ nodded no. "Then behave," Toby said calmly.
"Rennie, like I said, we believe these vitamins are poison. So were the ones your husband was taking. Toby's wife had severe drug withdrawals, and we believe they cause dangerous behavior. They affected her and the baby." Clora opened the bottle and took a cautious sniff, looking at the amount of residue in the bottom of the container. "Mark is there enough to test?" and she held the bottle out to him. Mark got up to look, "I believe so." and he took the bottle and replaced the cap and put it in his shirt pocket.
"You mean I've been poisoning Duncan, oh dear Lord, I can't believe I would do that." Rennie started to tear up. "What can I do to clean out my system?" she begged.
"A lot of sweat, no milk for the baby from you, exercise, showers; pretty much everything you have seen us do for Bruce," Toby replied. "You, ahhh, might want to put aaa.... Ma, maybe you should look over Rennie's list and make a few suggestions."
"Certainly," Clora said smoothly, easing Toby's discomfort. Then she smiled as Toby heaved a deep sigh, like he had just passed Go and collected two hundred.
Rennie was sitting there with a awful look on her face, and her hand over her mouth. "You were waiting for me to make the association, weren't you?"
Mark nodded.
"Eldon had a green light and this huge car came out of nowhere and slammed into us. Eldon was killed instantly, Jamie lived a day, and I wish I could have died." and then she started crying. "I'm sorry," and she put TJ down and hurried from the room.
"Mark, that wasn't so very long ago. I remember that from the TV news when I was in the hospital." Clora looked concerned. "No wonder she is so protective of Duncan. It's only been three months or so since she lost her baby. If I remember right, the driver of the big car ran away and was never found."
"She did seem pretty weepy at work several times," Toby gave a classic shrug. "Wow."
"This has to be the work of the witches," Mark intoned low. "I'll take this in this afternoon," and he patted his chest pocket, "and get it analyzed. What about her list?"
"I'll get it in a minute, it might not be something you would be interested in shopping for." Clora warned carefully.
Mark got a horrified look on his face.
"I'll go," Toby offered, "I got over that shopping for Meg and Adoree."
"I'll have to put the item you were stammering about," Clora teased and Toby shrugged again. "Comes with the territory," he added calmly. "She picked right up on the association, didn't she. Pretty smart cookie. I think I will ask her about the witches, she's as close to their apartment as we were. If I were a betting man, I believe I'd bet ole mom and pop know something about this, and I'd also bet they didn't come to the States when her husband was killed. There's a reserve there that I'm picking up on. Something hinky, anyway."
Clora looked at Mark and nodded. Toby was beginning to have protective feelings.
Rennie drove herself mercilessly, sweating out the poison by exercise, sauna and then more exercise. Drinking water by the gallon, and then doing more exercise and sauna. She even fell asleep in the small cubicle, and by accident Toby opened the door thinking the booth was empty.
Rennie had never seen Toby's chest and stomach until it was close enough to touch, and he had never seen the network of angry red scars criss crossing her stomach. He backed out, she covered up and they passed wordlessly.
He did turn around and watch as she walked away, that was a temptation no man could resist.
Two weeks later, Rennie was declared clean with a blood and urine test, and she lovingly picked up Duncan and disappeared into her room.
Toby found her later in the day, sitting in the atrium with Duncan sleeping on her chest. She was loosing some of the haunted look she had been carrying around, and when he asked if they could talk, she said sure.
Toby asked about her feelings, living in the town house, what did she think of the location, and the neighbors.
Rennie had replied that she had only been there full time for three months. "I couldn't go back to our house," she confessed softly. "I took some pictures and that's all. I had an auction company come in and sell everything. There was a half loaf of bread they sold, so I meant everything. There is a offer on the house, the real estate woman called this morning. It's decent, not great, but I'll never put a foot in there again so I might as well sell it."
Toby nodded. He well understood the feeling and said so. "Rennie, I was wondering about the town house. You know I lived mirror opposite from you, with the end unit between us. Did you know or ever meet the old woman in the end apartment?"
"She wasn't old," Rennie replied, "my age or younger, had a cute little boy that was built like a tank. She kept trying to get me to come over for tea, but I was working on a big case and didn't have a spare second for myself."
"Oh God," Toby moaned and covered his face. "Was she short and curly headed blonde and was the boy's name Eric?"
"Yeah, did you know them?"
"That was my wife and son." Toby said so quietly it was hard to hear him. "The old woman in the end apartment was a witch and she enticed my wife into her coven. That was the reason for Meg shooting us. Something went wrong. This is going to sound terribly personal, but did your husband have a funny shaped mark low on his groin? Right about here," and Toby pointed to himself.
"Yeah, and he swore he had never gotten a tattoo, he didn't know where it came from, but it was a tattoo."
"No, I don't suppose he did know how he got it; Rennie this is all tied together. Did you have any strange but good tasting bottles of water in the apartment?"
"We did. I didn't like it, but Eldon really did. I didn't drink any because I thought it gave Jamie gas. Eldon would drink three or four a night however."
Now do you know why we have Bruce here?" Toby kept on asking questions.
"No, I thought perhaps he was a relative."
"He wound up being drugged by the same bottles of water as your husband. The men are used....; well they are...., they...are called stallions and identified by the mark." Toby finished in a rush.
"Your kidding." Rennie was speechless, "I've never heard of such a thing. Really?" the more excited she got the broader her accent became. "Did you?"
Toby nodded. "You're drugged and you have no recollection, you only feel like something has happened. Rennie, the way they get rid of the men they don't want any longer is through an accident. Eldon's car wreck, my shooting, I don't know what they planned for Bruce, but it would have been something. It's really sad. There is a woman waiting for Bruce that loves him so tremendously, and this is his second time through, he can't kick that water and it's taste."
Rennie was sitting , staring at the pebbles in the path way. "I don't know what to say," she said, shaking her head.
Mark posed the question to Clora at lunch, and got a "hum. I'll think on it." Then Mark realized Rennie was coming in the room and that was the reason for Clora's evasion.
"Could I sent a short list of things I need, with the next person going to town?" She asked and wandered over to wash her hands and set out plates and glasses. All the kids except TJ were in school and Lemmie and Hank were off to a doctor's appointment.
"Certainly, it will be either Dad or myself this afternoon," Toby replied. "Rennie, they made their first move. My office was broken into, some stuffed toys were gutted as a warning."
"Gordon's family was very strange; highly secretive, always staring and whispering when we were near, the one brother in law almost broke Susan's ribs giving her such a hard hug. They were just edgy enough that they kept us all off balance. The kind of men that make a person feel very uncomfortable," Rennie commented.
"Did they ever come visit at your folk's town home?" Mark asked.
"Not while I was there, but then I usually hung out with friends or went to a motel when Mother and Father were in the States. I'm sure Gordon was there plenty of times. Somebody always went through my things, so I have no idea who that might have been. I really dislike the idea of people snooping through my drawers," she said with a little heat, "That's annoying." Rennie had been sitting on a stool and she got down and fished in her pocket for a green plastic vial. "I almost forgot about my vitamins, is this a familiar brand here in the States? Susan would get them for me so they must be available around here close."
"Dear God," Toby shouted out as she handed him the container, "that's the same brand that Christy took."
"The baby," Clora gasped, "that's the problem. I can't believe I didn't find that."
Mark swore and Rennie was looking from one of them to the other. "I don't understand," she said in puzzlement, "what is happening?"
Clora took Rennie's hand and had her sit down. "Rennie," she started gently, "we haven't asked before, but tell us about your husband and child. I will tie this all together in a minute, so you can understand."
Rennie got white faced and Toby moved closer to catch her if she fell. "I met Eldon here in the States on a previous trip to argue a case for my father. We liked each other, got married and had Jamie." she shrugged, "pretty normal stuff actually." and then she coughed with emotion, and looked toward the atrium.
"Jamie, boy or girl?" Clora softly probed.
"Boy, he started off strong and healthy and then we had problems such as Duncan is having. He got awfully thin before I completely stopped eating anything but totally organic food, I didn't take these vitamins either. They were a late addition given me by Susan, she swore by them as they help increase...milk." Rennie added, kind of embarrassed to be talking about such matters in front of strange gentlemen.
Clora patted her arm in encouragement. "Rennie, it has been our experience that this particular brand of vitamins are poisoned. Did Jamie thrive or begin to wither, when you started taking them?"
"He never regained the healthy start that he had in the beginning, but then Eldon and I weren't here during most of my pregnancy. Eldon was a fish biologist and we spent almost the whole nine months in Yellowstone where he was studying some fish. Susan sent vitamins for Eldon to take, when she found out we were going to try for another child. Please tell me what's going on?" Rennie's voice got a little shrill, and TJ came running in to see if she was OK.
Rennie lifted him up to her lap and he snuggled in her arms. Toby was watching his son closely, and when the little stinker would have patted Rennie's chest, Toby stopped him with a word. "Do you want to get down?" and Rennie captured the little wayward hand and held it gently. TJ nodded no. "Then behave," Toby said calmly.
"Rennie, like I said, we believe these vitamins are poison. So were the ones your husband was taking. Toby's wife had severe drug withdrawals, and we believe they cause dangerous behavior. They affected her and the baby." Clora opened the bottle and took a cautious sniff, looking at the amount of residue in the bottom of the container. "Mark is there enough to test?" and she held the bottle out to him. Mark got up to look, "I believe so." and he took the bottle and replaced the cap and put it in his shirt pocket.
"You mean I've been poisoning Duncan, oh dear Lord, I can't believe I would do that." Rennie started to tear up. "What can I do to clean out my system?" she begged.
"A lot of sweat, no milk for the baby from you, exercise, showers; pretty much everything you have seen us do for Bruce," Toby replied. "You, ahhh, might want to put aaa.... Ma, maybe you should look over Rennie's list and make a few suggestions."
"Certainly," Clora said smoothly, easing Toby's discomfort. Then she smiled as Toby heaved a deep sigh, like he had just passed Go and collected two hundred.
Rennie was sitting there with a awful look on her face, and her hand over her mouth. "You were waiting for me to make the association, weren't you?"
Mark nodded.
"Eldon had a green light and this huge car came out of nowhere and slammed into us. Eldon was killed instantly, Jamie lived a day, and I wish I could have died." and then she started crying. "I'm sorry," and she put TJ down and hurried from the room.
"Mark, that wasn't so very long ago. I remember that from the TV news when I was in the hospital." Clora looked concerned. "No wonder she is so protective of Duncan. It's only been three months or so since she lost her baby. If I remember right, the driver of the big car ran away and was never found."
"She did seem pretty weepy at work several times," Toby gave a classic shrug. "Wow."
"This has to be the work of the witches," Mark intoned low. "I'll take this in this afternoon," and he patted his chest pocket, "and get it analyzed. What about her list?"
"I'll get it in a minute, it might not be something you would be interested in shopping for." Clora warned carefully.
Mark got a horrified look on his face.
"I'll go," Toby offered, "I got over that shopping for Meg and Adoree."
"I'll have to put the item you were stammering about," Clora teased and Toby shrugged again. "Comes with the territory," he added calmly. "She picked right up on the association, didn't she. Pretty smart cookie. I think I will ask her about the witches, she's as close to their apartment as we were. If I were a betting man, I believe I'd bet ole mom and pop know something about this, and I'd also bet they didn't come to the States when her husband was killed. There's a reserve there that I'm picking up on. Something hinky, anyway."
Clora looked at Mark and nodded. Toby was beginning to have protective feelings.
Rennie drove herself mercilessly, sweating out the poison by exercise, sauna and then more exercise. Drinking water by the gallon, and then doing more exercise and sauna. She even fell asleep in the small cubicle, and by accident Toby opened the door thinking the booth was empty.
Rennie had never seen Toby's chest and stomach until it was close enough to touch, and he had never seen the network of angry red scars criss crossing her stomach. He backed out, she covered up and they passed wordlessly.
He did turn around and watch as she walked away, that was a temptation no man could resist.
Two weeks later, Rennie was declared clean with a blood and urine test, and she lovingly picked up Duncan and disappeared into her room.
Toby found her later in the day, sitting in the atrium with Duncan sleeping on her chest. She was loosing some of the haunted look she had been carrying around, and when he asked if they could talk, she said sure.
Toby asked about her feelings, living in the town house, what did she think of the location, and the neighbors.
Rennie had replied that she had only been there full time for three months. "I couldn't go back to our house," she confessed softly. "I took some pictures and that's all. I had an auction company come in and sell everything. There was a half loaf of bread they sold, so I meant everything. There is a offer on the house, the real estate woman called this morning. It's decent, not great, but I'll never put a foot in there again so I might as well sell it."
Toby nodded. He well understood the feeling and said so. "Rennie, I was wondering about the town house. You know I lived mirror opposite from you, with the end unit between us. Did you know or ever meet the old woman in the end apartment?"
"She wasn't old," Rennie replied, "my age or younger, had a cute little boy that was built like a tank. She kept trying to get me to come over for tea, but I was working on a big case and didn't have a spare second for myself."
"Oh God," Toby moaned and covered his face. "Was she short and curly headed blonde and was the boy's name Eric?"
"Yeah, did you know them?"
"That was my wife and son." Toby said so quietly it was hard to hear him. "The old woman in the end apartment was a witch and she enticed my wife into her coven. That was the reason for Meg shooting us. Something went wrong. This is going to sound terribly personal, but did your husband have a funny shaped mark low on his groin? Right about here," and Toby pointed to himself.
"Yeah, and he swore he had never gotten a tattoo, he didn't know where it came from, but it was a tattoo."
"No, I don't suppose he did know how he got it; Rennie this is all tied together. Did you have any strange but good tasting bottles of water in the apartment?"
"We did. I didn't like it, but Eldon really did. I didn't drink any because I thought it gave Jamie gas. Eldon would drink three or four a night however."
Now do you know why we have Bruce here?" Toby kept on asking questions.
"No, I thought perhaps he was a relative."
"He wound up being drugged by the same bottles of water as your husband. The men are used....; well they are...., they...are called stallions and identified by the mark." Toby finished in a rush.
"Your kidding." Rennie was speechless, "I've never heard of such a thing. Really?" the more excited she got the broader her accent became. "Did you?"
Toby nodded. "You're drugged and you have no recollection, you only feel like something has happened. Rennie, the way they get rid of the men they don't want any longer is through an accident. Eldon's car wreck, my shooting, I don't know what they planned for Bruce, but it would have been something. It's really sad. There is a woman waiting for Bruce that loves him so tremendously, and this is his second time through, he can't kick that water and it's taste."
Rennie was sitting , staring at the pebbles in the path way. "I don't know what to say," she said, shaking her head.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you Pac.