An announcement for some bus headed somewhere startled Luke awake. For a minute, he wasn’t sure where he was and then it all came back. Once again, his mouth was nasty and his head ached abominably. He even felt as though he was going to throw up everything he’d eaten and drunk in the last month. His stomach was decidedly upset.
Well, better get myself out of here before the sheriff comes to
arrest me for being homeless. He got up and walked toward the door, his gait that of a much older man. Each time his boot heel hit the floor, his head
felt like it was the clangor in a bell. He tried to walk more softly, but that
didn’t work very well either. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror and he
appeared to be mincing his way across the floor, plus his hair was standing up
on one side. He looked derelict.
Outside, he looked around for his truck. He was positive he’d
parked in the last space in the second row. His truck didn’t appear in any of
the rows, and when he yanked his key chain up from where it was attached to his
belt, he realized his truck fob was gone. Son of a bitch, Luke thought. So
stupid to sleep, or let’s be honest, pass out in such a public place. Someone
had liberated his truck key and his truck. How the hell was he supposed to get
home? How the hell was he going to make it back to the ranch. Fuck, how the
hell was he supposed to find the sheriff’s office and report his truck stolen. Just
fuck, fuck, fuck.
Luke slapped his hat against his thigh and walked toward the
street. With any luck, not that he’d had any whatsoever since Hannah confessed,
a police car might pass, or some stranger might tell him where to find the
police station. There weren’t a lot of cars traveling on the street, and not a
single human in sight. Just fuck, he muttered again. This is all Hannah’s
fault. If it weren’t for her and her big news, I wouldn’t even be here. And it
wasn’t like he could call anyone at the ranch and ask for a ride. He couldn’t
do that when he was still so angry and pissed.
Just then, Luke noticed a police car slowly coming down the
street. Maybe his luck was changing. He stepped into the gutter and flagged the
police car down. When it stopped beside him, and the window rolled down, Luke
told the officer behind the wheel, “I need to report my truck stolen out of the
bus station lot. I spent part of the night in the bus station and I guess
someone stole my fob off my key chain after I fell asleep.”
“Smells more like you musta passed out,” the officer replied, opening
his own window and waving one of his hands.
“Well, okay, maybe I drank a bit too much, but my life just went
into the shitter a couple days ago. I didn’t want to drive drunk, so I parked here.
Couldn’t find any other place in town that was open.”
“Okay, climb in, but try to breath out your own window. You really
stink. I’ll take you to the station and you can make a report.”
A few blocks later, the officer pulled his patrol car into the
station parking lot. He told Luke to go inside and see the sergeant at the
front desk. “Not that I think you’re gonna get your truck back today,” the
officer continued, “but you can file a report and we can at least be on the
look-out.”
Luke thanked him and walked into the station. Once he filed his
report, he asked if there was a car rental place close by. The sergeant told
him where to find the closest one and suggested he call for an Uber unless he
wanted to walk a couple of miles.
In a little more than an hour, Luke was ensconced in an extremely
small economy car. Even with the seat pushed back as far as it would go, he had
to spread his knees to keep the steering wheel free. Fuck, he told himself as
he tried to scrunch himself even smaller, can this day get any better? Fuck,
can my life get any better?
All the way back to his place in Hannah’s little town, he fumed
and swore and talked to himself about how fucking shitty things were. It would
have been different if it were his fault, but it wasn’t. There he’d been,
trying to do everything just right so she’d take him back, let him be a part of
Stevie’s life and what was she doing while he was being so extremely nice. She was making him suffer by acting as though
he meant nothing. She’d been a real bitch acting so high and mighty when she was
carrying some other man’s kid. She should have been on her knees welcoming him
back. She should have been grateful he’d come back. She should have been
delighted with the way he acted just like Stevie’s daddy day after day. And,
she wouldn’t even tell Stevie who I was. Such a fucking bitch, Luke thought for
the umpteen time.
When Luke arrived back at his place, he could barely unfold
himself from the car. Not only was he still hung over, royally pissed about
Hannah, and exceedingly angry about his truck being stolen, his entire body
ached. He felt miserable.
Inside, he made himself some coffee, scrambled some eggs and
toasted a couple slices of almost moldy bread. He guessed he was lucky he had
anything here to eat since he used the place mostly for sleeping. Out of the
shower, dressed in fresh clothes, Luke did feel better. Actually, he felt good
enough to head for the ranch. He was going to have a come to Jesus meeting with
Hannah. He was through being Mr. Nice Guy. It would also be good to see Stevie.
He’d missed him yesterday.
Luke was surprised to find the entrance gates to the ranch closed,
not only closed, but apparently locked. The sign encouraged visitors to push
the red button and wait for a response. He did, and waited for what seemed like
ten minutes or more. It took pushing that fucking button two more times before
he finally got a response.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s Luke. Please open the gate.”
“I’m sorry Luke, but we’ve been given instructions to keep you off
ranch property. I cannot open the gate for you. Have a good day.”
“What the fuck?” Luke exclaimed and pushed the button again. He
kept pushing the button and getting no response until he was ready to physically
jump the fence and run all the way to the barnyard. He was just about ready to
do so when the speaker came to life again.
“Luke, I know you’re still there because we also equipped the gate
with a camera.” Hannah’s voice came tinnily through.
Luke pressed his button and said, “Now, Hannah, let me through the
gate. I want to see Stevie.”
“No, Luke, no. Your days of freely coming and going are done,
over, finished. You are no longer welcome at WFR Treks. I want you to go away
and not return. Me and my family have done a great job with Stevie and we’ll do
another great job with the next. You can just head on out and be responsible
for just yourself. I, we do not need you at all. And, if you try to make a
nuisance of yourself, I’ve got the sheriff on speed-dial. I’m sure you remember
him from the first time he escorted you off my land. Good bye Luke.”
Luke tried pushing the button next to the mike, but the system had
apparently been turned off. It didn’t matter what he wanted to say, no one at
the ranch was interested in listening. He turned his car around and headed back
to town.
As Luke drove, he found his anger had suddenly disappeared. His
foremost feeling now was fear and maybe the beginnings of desperation. What if
she really means it, he wondered. What if I never get to see Stevie again? What
if I never get to see Hannah again. The prospect of either, and especially both
those choices, made him feel unbelievably miserable. It made him feel even more
heart broken than his mental pictures of Hannah with another man. He wondered
how he was going to be able to fix the biggest screw up of his entire life.
Over the next few days, Luke drove out to the ranch, only to find
the gate locked and to be told to go away and not come back. In town, there
wasn’t much to do except drink, and Luke decided he’d had enough of that to
last him a long while. He wandered around like a lost puppy, trying to make
conversation with a whole bunch of people, but apparently, the town grapevine
had been working overtime.
No matter who he tried to talk to or about what, the topic was
always turned toward him and the date of his departure. It seemed there wasn’t
a single person who wanted him to hang around. Luke imagined this is how it had
been when Hannah announced her pregnancy with Stevie. Probably a few
non-supporters, but on the whole, he bet the town rallied around Hannah then
like they were now. There didn’t seem to be a single person who wanted to talk to
him about anything, but especially Hannah and Stevie and WFR.
To make things even better, his truck had finally turned up. Luke
happily drove to the bigger town, turned in his very uncomfortable little car
and caught a ride to the police station. Once he’d signed all the papers, paid
for the towing that had brought his truck from wherever it had been found to
the police parking lot, Luke was escorted to his truck.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. His once pristine truck, the only
thing he owned worth anything, now looked almost worthless. It was a mess
and appeared as though whoever had stolen it had gone joyriding through a
forest full of trees. Besides being crumpled here and there, it was filthy, the
windows streaked with mud. When he opened the door, the smell almost made him
gag. The inside was full of fast-food wrappers and leftover food and drink. It
also smelled as though someone had vomited. Luke shook his head and wondered when his luck
would go from worse to bad to better. He was more than ready.
Luke got directions to a car wash location. First, he cleaned the
inside as much as possible, removing all the trash and scrubbing the vomit off
the passenger side floor. Then, he went through the car wash twice before he
was satisfied enough to drive to the nearest insurance agent. He probably
should have done that first, but he could barely drive as far as he had with
the vomit odor as strong as it had been.
Fortunately, the insurance office was one of those that held a claims
adjuster. The woman updated his report, since he’d called when the truck had
been stolen and then went out to take photos. She indicated she would submit
the report and contact him on his cell once she’d heard back. It seemed his
insurance would pay to have his truck repaired as long as he paid his $1,000
deductible. As he left the office, Luke cursed again. Fuck, the way things were
going, he’d have to find a job. His money wasn’t close to running out, but he’d
really wanted to impress Hannah with the full amount when they got back
together. So far, it looked like the only impression he be making would be just
how fucking dumb and dumber he could be.
Finally, for the first day since Luke ceased to arrive at the
usual time, Stevie appeared to be oblivious. Hannah had him in the barn, watching
the barn cat give birth. She admired the quiet, tender and gentle way Stevie
was as the tiny fluffs of fur appeared. He didn’t try to pick them up or do
anything that would upset the mom. He knelt, butt centered on his feet and
gazed into the box, fascinated as the mother kitty stopped licking the last
born and turned her attention to her bottom where what Hannah hoped was the
last kitten was being expelled.
Stevie quietly counted the babies. “Mom she’s had eight babies.
Will she have more?” he whispered.
“No, I think she’s done having babies. Look how they’re squirming
around trying to find the nipples on her chest. They’re really hungry don’t you
think Stevie?”
“Sure looks like it. Can I take one up to the house? Can I have
one in my room? Can I, huh. Please.” He implored.
“Stevie, right now, the babies have to stay with their mom. She’ll
feed them and keep them clean and warm. We can talk about you having one as a
pet when they’re a lot bigger. For now, would you like to be in charge of keeping
a check on the box they’re all in.”
“Sure,” Stevie almost shouted before lowing his voice. “What do I
need to do?”
“Several times a day, say first thing in the morning, lunchtime
and just before we go in to get ready for bed, you need to come in the barn and
look into the box. Count the kitties to make sure they all there. Give mom a scritch
and a treat and tell her what a great job she’s doing. Think you can handle
that?”
“You bet.” Stevie responded. “Kinda means they’re all my kitties
don’t it?”
“Well, it doesn’t mean they all belong to you or that you get to
keep them all. It means it’s your responsibility to make sure they are all
okay. If it doesn’t look like they are, then you need to let me or one of the
staff know right away. Okay?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, let’s head for the dining hall. Mom needs to do a couple of
things in her office before lunch. Once you finish the paper I’ll give you to
work on, you can play with my I-pad until it’s time for lunch. You have to do a
good job on your homework though if you want to play games. Okay?”
“Yep,” Stevie replied as he got up and took her hand. Hannah tried
to let go of the fear she felt as they left the barn. This was usually when
Stevie became difficult. He’d look around the parking lot, bring up Luke and proceed to cry or yell about the man’s absence. Today though
and maybe it was just the time they’d spent watching kittens being birthed,
Stevie seemed like the toddler he’d been before Luke’s arrival. He held her hand
the whole way to the dining hall, jabbering about the kittens and his ‘ponsibilty
for them. The hurt and anger which had lodged in Hannah’s chest seemed to ease
a bit as Stevie let go and ran into the dining hall.
“Hey Uncle Dale. I have eight kitties and they’re my ‘ponsibilty.
Mom said. Isn’t that really cool?”
Hannah headed for her office. She knew Dale would usher him to her
once they’d talked about all the kitties and Stevie’s responsibilities. Her
final thought as she turned on her computer was, too bad Luke can’t see how
easy it was to turn Stevie’s attention elsewhere. And, okay, it took a bit of
time, but we did it. Good bye Luke.