Aftermath - What Really Happened

I shuddered and sagged against her car. She shrieked and recoiled. Mike reached across to me. I was a grown man, and I was totally blindsided. I shook my head and looked around. The world slowly came back into focus.

"Linda? No, please God, NOOO!!"

That's when Mike snapped at what had happened. He shook me and slapped my face.

"Snap out of it, Jim. It's not your girls." Then he realized that Emma had no clue what was going on. He turned to her while supporting me and quickly apologized.

"Jim has had a very bad experience in his past. His former wife was named Linda, and his young daughter was Emma. But that's all I feel comfortable telling you. He's a good man. I trust him with my family's lives and would stand by him no matter what."

WOW!! I didn't know I was held in such high esteem. I thought they just tolerated me. I straightened up and felt better, but really embarrassed. Stuttering and mumbling profusely, I started to apologize. I was having trouble speaking, I guess, and making a bigger fool of myself, while trying to get the hell out of there. Emma stopped me.

"Jim, Jim,- MR. CARLYLE!!

"It's o.k.. Really. It is. Just take a deep breath and relax."

I started to calm down and Mike moved away from me. One of the other deputies came over and said he needed to get our statements and our personal info. So we took care of everything, while little Linda watched me like I had two heads. And probably neither one was human.

Finally, Emma turned to me and asked if I would like to get some lunch.

"Have you ever eaten at 'Sally's'?", she suggested. Mike was watching for my reaction, and when I blushed and said Sally's was one of my favorite places, he started grinning from ear to ear. I looked at him, scowled and he started to chuckle.

"Go get some dinner, Jim. And take your time. See you guys later." He left, smiling slightly.

Now what was that all about?

I turned back to Emma and saw she was studying me. She cocked her head and said, "Well? What do you say? I'm a little hungry, my daughter is probably starving, and seeming as how you're male, you're probably hungry, too. Come on, it's on me. It's the least I can do to thank you."

I hadn't felt like this in over three years. Not since that night. I mean, I actually felt like a human being again. I was a little stunned at being like this so suddenly. But I figured 'What the hell?'. I had been down so long that this feeling was totally foreign to me. So we went to get something to eat. We walked about three hundred yards to Sally's, the town not being that big, after I put my groceries in the bed of my truck and locked the cap.

We got to Sally's and went in. It was cool inside but I was starting to sweat.

Wonder why??

Sally saw us enter and waved, then motioned to an empty table. We were soon approached by the wonderful owner, who normally policed the counter and left the tables to her 'girls' to service.

But we were an exception. Sally was grinning from ear to ear.

"So are you two going to ask for our 'heroes' discount'?".

I was perplexed, but Emma was snickering.

"Good news travels fast, huh, Sally?", she said.

Still grinning, Sally picked up the commentary.

"Mike's on the radio talking about the 'bust'. Seems like Mr. Nice Guy here is already well-known. Good work, Jim. I knew you were a good guy when I first laid eyes on you, sugah." She was having way too much fun at my expense.

It seems like the small town ambiance extends to more than just atmosphere. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. This was reinforced by two older gents who came in and seeing us sitting there, came over to the table.

"How do, Sal, is the pie fresh?", said the first.

"Just took two new apples and a peach out of the oven, Rufus. Your pick."

He laughed, removed his Viet Nam Vets ball cap, and stuck out his hand.

"Nice move, young feller. It's good to see that you younger generations are not afraid to step up. I heard he had a gun."

Stunned, I took his hand and got a warm shake. The second guy piped up.

"Always said Joshua had good insight to a man's character." He replaced Rufus's hand, also shaking mine. They nodded to my two companions with a gleam in their eyes and moved to the counter. Sally was in seventh heaven with the attention and was smiling to no end.

"Well, looks like you two will be a hot topic in town for a while, and that means my establishment will be home to our town's latest hero."

Emma was also laughing.

"Can we get some dinner Sally, before he gets too big a head?"

I was beyond embarrassed and apologizing to both Sally and Emma.

Sally suggested Chicken Fried steaks, French fries, and spinach with a side salad. It was the Tuesday lunch special and although it was after 2:30 p.m., she was the boss, and if we wanted it, no problem. I nodded and Emma said it sounded good to her.

"And mac and cheese and nuggets for Linda, please." It was the first time I had seen the kid grin, but she then lapsed back to a neutral grimace, again directed at me. It didn't seem to faze Emma, though.

Sally left to put our orders in and Emma returned to grilling me.

It turns out that Angelina, Mike's sister, Camille, Mike's wife, and Mai, (you remember Mai, right?) had been secretly trying to arraign for our 'introduction.' They thought she would be a good influence in my 'recovery'. To Emma's credit, she was only concerned about her child and wasn't interested in any romantic entanglements. Fate stepped in and here we were.

"So, MR. HERO," she smirked, "I know a little bit about you but you know next to nothing about me. So let's start with me."

"I am 29 years old. I have been divorced for three years, but it was kind of academic, as my abusive son of a bitch husband was doing time in the state penitentiary for drug possession. He died in the exercise yard last year. I was one of Mike's sister's first cases after she set up her private practice."

She was speaking quieter when she spoke about her ex-husband, I assumed because her daughter was sitting right there.

"I am a CPA, with a license in estate planning and investments certification. I have a company, actually just my best friend and me and a secretary/notary. We do all right, have been in business for a little more than three years. So I was a little surprised when the two lowlifes tried to rob us, or grab us, or carjack us, or whatever they were going to do." About then she started to get emotional and began to cry. I guess the adrenaline finally wore off and she was starting to realize what had almost happened. I got up and went around to her seat, squatted down, and wrapped her in my arms. Felt good. She was sobbing and wailing and little Linda started to cry also.

Sooo, I reached out and corralled her into the embrace with us.

We knelt there for a moment and the feeling washed over me. For the first time in more than three years, I felt...normal. Good. Whole again. It scared me, only because I never thought I would feel this way again. I looked at the cute woman in my arms and the little imp sniveling in our embrace. I didn't want it to end.

That's when I looked up into the face of Sally. The very concerned black woman had a flat grimace on her face, the first time I had not seen a smile on her face in three years. She placed the Iced tea and apple juice on the table as I started to splutter an explanation when Emma interrupted with a tearful, sniveling gasp about how it was an emotional outburst from the imbroglio that had occurred this afternoon. Sally softened as I rose and returned to my chair, but I pulled it a little closer to the two ladies sitting with me. Her smile had returned and as she left she winked- at ME!!

I straightened my shirt and grabbed my iced tea, took a long pull, and then raised my eyes to Emma's.

"OK, my turn."

First I apologized for my sudden snap back at the scene of the 'altercation'. I explained that when she introduced herself and her daughter, I was taken by surprise at their names and the fact they were the same as my wife's and daughter's, except reversed. It caught me by surprise, and I wasn't ready for it.

"Again, I apologize," I told her.

I proceeded to lay out my rather sordid, emotional tale, glossing over the more crude aspects, but making it clear what had happened. I did not hide anything, but I was not lurid in my story. She understood that Linda had cheated, dumped me, and ignored me in the worst way possible. I told her I was not proud of what I did, but that I didn't see any way around the ensuing catastrophe. Could I have handled it differently? Hell, yeah. I had been over this countless times over the last three years. Would it have been any different? For whom?? I gave her back exactly what she gave me.

As I laid it out to her, it was like a fog evaporated from my mind. A burden lifted if you will. I know it sounds trite but that's what it felt like. Just like you read about. This woman was a totally neutral object who had no 'dog in the fight' so to speak.

At least, I didn't think she did.

But as I told my tale of grief, Emma's eyes widened and then hardened. She took it in and her mind was working. I would come to understand that that was what she did, in her professional career and her personal life. Her personal life revolved around her daughter and everything in it, and to a great extent, her professional life concerned her Linda. As we moved forward, I became enmeshed in this.

But that was down the road.

She listened in rapt attention as I told her what I had done, and how devastated I was by what had happened. How I signed everything away, taken less than half our funds (No, I never mentioned the miscellaneous cash I had taken. It was mine- NYAAH, NYAAH, NYAAH!), how I had signed over all my extra amounts of money to my children's college futures, how I had just left her like she had left me.

I know I was repeating myself, and could tell she was getting a little concerned that I was starting to lose it. I stopped and looked her in the eye. I thought I could see something, a soft caring there. I snuck a quick peek at Linda and was stunned with a pronouncement.

She stared straight at me, and said, "I'm not a bad Linda, like she is." The child's innocent look and calm demeanor, along with the stare she leveled at me and held whilst sipping her apple juice was mind-blowing. I thought of Emma, my Emma, and what she would say, or do, in this situation.

I snapped back to staring at her mother and managed to catch a grin before she covered her expression up.

"Mr. Carlyle, I apologize for the things I was thinking. I didn't realize how hurt you had been. But you need to fix yourself. You need to repair yourself. And only YOU can do this. Trust me, I know. As they say, 'Been there, done that.' So I think maybe we can see each other again, sometime."

Dinner arrived, and we tore into it, talking a little about life here in Golden Beach. She had lived here since she moved out of her apartment after her husband was arrested. A little more than four years. 'Little' Linda was just over five years old. We finished our dinner, and she drained her iced tea, looked at me, and said, "Well, I look forward to seeing you around, Mr. Carlyle. Again, thank you, from the bottom of my soul."

She was collecting her belongings-cell phone, purse, car keys. Why do women spread their things out when they sit down to eat or talk?

Don't know. Oh, well.

She rose and motioned for Linda to come. She extended her hand to me to shake, but the touch was a little more than a handshake. And it lasted a tad longer than was necessary. She smiled and they were out the door. I stood there, then sat back down, realizing- she had stuck me with the check!!

The stinker. I smiled.

Sally walked up and handed me the bill. She was grinning and said, "Don't screw this up, sugah. She is the real deal, and she's worth the wait."

So I paid and left to go home, feeling..... I don't know what, except that I felt better than I had in a long time. But I got the distinct impression I had been 'set up'.

The weeks rolled along, morphing into months, and I ran into Emma several times, even managing to take her and Linda out for ice cream once or twice. I was becoming human.

The following morning I showed up for breakfast as usual at the Marina restaurant, and then we put two small cabin cruisers in the water and serviced them for their owners who would be there the following Friday evening. The week progressed and on Thursday I was informed that there was a BBQ at the Lowell homestead tomorrow. My attendance was requested.

I guess I'm having BBQ on Friday. Good thing it wasn't Lent. So I figured I would sleep in on Saturday after pigging out on Friday. Sounds good, don't you think??

I was up and moving Friday and showed up for breakfast. I was totally oblivious to everything going out around me, but matters were coming to a head and my decision was being helped along without my knowledge.

The two families showed up for their boats and I took over showing them what we had done, explained what they should pay attention to, our hours of operation-especially the fuel dock- and such all. They were weekenders, and regulars but not natives.

As I got everything squared away and took care of a couple of mechanical projects I had running, it came on 4:00 and I punched out (I'm on the clock, now) cleaned up, and went home to change my clothes. Clean t-shirt and clean jeans (after all, it was a BBQ and I was semi-family) and I was on my way.

I arrived at the Lowell Home, a sprawling ranch-style Log home, about 5000 sq. ft. It had a wraparound porch, a patio out back, and a hot tub, adjacent to the pool. The pit fire and the BBQ were already smoking and there was a small crowd.

I was greeted by Mai and after a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, was thrown into the melee. Typical family gathering, with kids and spouses mingling. But I was almost immediately singled out by Mai Angelina, their daughter. Their youngest child. She was a very prominent area lawyer and she had been a Marine. She was very close with a young doctor, and everyone hoped it was 'serious'.

We'll see.

But here she was, alone, and focused on me.

"Jim, how are you doing? I have only met you two or three times over the past three years, but what I have seen is a very positive impression. AND what I have learned is equally good. A little sad and disturbing, but nothing that alters my opinion. And a certain individual has expressed a very serious interest in you. Can we talk??"

O.K., I got nothing. I have just been blindsided by a young woman whom I knew casually but had only good thoughts about. And what the hell was the other things she said? Things she LEARNED? WHEN?? HOW?? WHY?? And the 'certain individual'- who and what was she talking about? Can we talk? HELL, YEAH, and we will!!

"Yes, please, right away, if you don't mind. I have more questions than answers. Can we??"

She was smiling and took my arm. We were joined by Mike and his wife, Camille. They were grinning, probably at my obvious consternation and unrest. They guided me to a small table, under a massive shade tree. We sat and I got hugs and handshakes, along with Buds for me and Mike, and white wine for the ladies. Why do women always opt for wine? Mike grinned at me.

"Budweiser. I think you're gonna need it. But not too much, o.k.??"

I took a big gulp and Mai Angelina started.

"Alright, let me get some things out there. I was assigned a mission about a year and a half ago. (Well, she is a Marine! I was pretty sure I knew who was responsible. I turned, searching for Joshua. There he was, socializing with a few people- EMMA?- and he cast a sideways, non-committal look in my direction. Stony, no admission, and right back to his conversation.)

(Yeah, I knew.)

"Pay attention, troop. Now then." She was really enjoying this. Well, she is a Marine.

"As I said, I was tasked to get the skinny on your status. I have been in touch, on your behalf, with your attorney, LW Sterns. Now, don't get your skivvies in a knot. No one knows where you are or anything about you. But suffice it to say that we know quite a bit more about things than we did before.

"LW is sharp. He divulged nothing that you had not told us and confirmed everything you had. Then he asked what was on my mind. He never asked where you were, how you were if you had thought about coming back, or anything. So I asked him what the status was back in Cicero, Illinois.

"This is what I learned. I am the only one who knows any of this. Even my parents don't have a clue- yet."

Just then, Robert, her young male friend, walked up and looked at her with a grin. He kissed the top of her head.

"Everything alright, honey?"

"Yes, but I'm just starting my briefing. You can come back again in a while, honey, please," she said, smiling back at him. He returned the smile and said cheerfully said, "O.K., let me know," and left to rejoin the small party. Mai Angelina looked after him and shook her head.

"I want so much to let him in on everything, but he's not family- not yet. Soon, maybe." She shook her head again and turned back to me.

"Now, like I said, I am the only one who has the 'skinny' shall we say. I will lay it all out, to everyone here, if you are o.k. with that, because we are all family. And like it or not, you are too. So are you ready?"

My insides were fighting to get out, and I was having trouble taking a deep breath. Mike stood and told me to take a drink as he finished his beer and went to get another. He returned with two Buds, and a bottle of Iced tea.

"I think you've had enough alcohol, but you're gonna have to stay hydrated for this.

"And I haven't even heard the story yet." He smirked a little and sat down. I turned to Angie, as she was known in the family.

"I need to know. I mean, how bad can it be? I'm not in jail-yet. So let's have it."

She continued to grin that grin. Yeah, she was REALLY enjoying this.

"Well, it would appear after she returned home, she had a plan to get you get over your 'hissy fit', and allow you to reclaim her. She was delusional. Then she entered the house. She freaked out and melted down. She thought you had killed yourself, or been killed. She dialed 911 and spilled a somewhat coherent story about what had happened, and what she had found. She kept screaming 'The smell, the smell.' They said a unit was on the way, to exit the house and stay on the line. But she had already hung up and called her parents. The police arrived, talked to her, and called for backup. She kept screaming about all the blood and the smell. They sat her down in a squad car, and then, when a second unit and a shift sergeant arrived, an officer stayed with her waiting for an ambulance and the other three officers went inside. It only took about twenty minutes to clear the house, and they were back outside, stripping off their latex clothes while one of them closed the door, and blocked it with 'police line' tape, the sergeant and the other officer walked up to her and said one word.

"I have it on good authority that they were sporting disgusted looks on their faces, and were a tad pissed off."

By now she was on a roll and could barely contain herself. She laughed and sat up straight. Jim knew what was coming and grinned.

"KETCHUP!!"

"The cops were puzzled and a little pissed. They wanted to know what was going on. About this time, her folks rolled up and the circus really started to roll. The e-mails and things you had prepared had hit all over and they were busy fielding phone calls from friends, family, and work associates. You created quite a fiasco. It was so bad she couldn't have spun it if she had wanted to. That's when the news trucks started to arrive. Angie grinned as she looked at me.