Stormwatch - Chapter 06

© 2025 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

This is an all new addition to the Stormwatch series. If you haven't read Stormwatch Chapter 1, through Stormwatch Chapter 5, please take this chance first. All chapters are listed in the correct reading order in the Stormwatch Series List. Chapters one and two are updates to existing chapters with 50% new material in each, and a corrected timeline. Chapters 3, through 6, are all new and hopefully they rekindle the joy of the series and expand on the story.

Welcome to summer in small town Western New York, where patriotism is still in fashion and friends are just up the block. This is Josh and Veronica's first summer together. He's having some issues with his accomplishments and the recognition for them, but with Veronica's love, he's coming around.

For comments, questions, or merchandise, please contact the author.

STORMWATCH Chapter 6

Storm Clouds Rising

June faded into July, and Josh and Veronica's love continued to mature and swell. Josh's favorite day of the year arrived, and they sat on the porch of her beautiful Victorian house, watching the crowds leave the park across the street. Yesterday was spent setting up booths and tents and the kiddy rides in the park getting ready for today, the big day: Independence Day! In Springville, it's still a monumental event for a little town and folks come from all over, from towns that gave up on the celebration, just to remember what it was like to celebrate America.

It was exciting just to watch the preparations. Their friends, John, Paul, and Macy were going to play in the gazebo later, after the parade and the firemen's bucket brigade. They had been practicing all week and Josh had never heard them sound better.

As for him and Veronica, they were going to watch the parade on Main Street, then come back to the carnival. He was going to get an Italian sausage with onions and peppers and she was going to get a funnel cake and they were going to share bites as they walked back up to Main Street to watch the firemen's bucket brigade competition. After that, they head back to the park for John, Paul, and Macy's concert. His quartet was planning to walk around the park, occasionally singing before and after the Jareckis played. Macy pleaded with Josh to sing one song with them, and he practiced several times with them. He just might do it...

"This is the first weekend we spent at home in months," said Veronica as they got up to walk up to Main Street and watch the parade. "We're always in the cabin."

"I was at the cabin this morning," said Josh.

"Doing what?"

"Don't spread this around but we have a couple of campers spending the weekend there and," he whispered their names in her ear. "Don't tell anyone, they want this kept secret."

Veronica smiled happily and said, "My lips are sealed," and she drew an imaginary zipper across her lips.

"Are you complaining we're not out there with them?"

"No, I love the cabin, but I love my house too," said Veronica.

"Well, I'm gonna go cut the lawn at the cabin on Sunday then pick up some more rocks for our creek rock garden. You can stay home and relax if you'd like."

"I wish I could. Macy wants help deciding on what to do with her nursery. Andi, Lucy, Melissa Kraft and I are going to help. What do I know about nurseries?"

"You have wonderful taste," said Josh. "That baby will have the perfect Victorian nursery with your help."

"It's been so crazy," groaned Veronica. "And we have the county fair coming up, I want to show you everything there."

"Just as long as they have that gooooood eye-talian sausage," grinned Josh. He was becoming addicted to western New York's fair foods, and the Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers was his favorite.

"Shoot, I forgot my phone," said Veronica. "You wait here. I'll be right back," and she left Josh standing in front of Paul and Andi's big house.

Josh studied the waist high wrought-iron fence that surrounded Paul's house and wondered what wrought really means. He also watched Veronica hurry back to their house. The beautiful blond was wearing tight shorts and a t-shirt with diagonal red, white, and blue stripes with "My Man Is A Veteran" in broad black letters across her breast. As perfect as her tits were, Josh could watch that beautiful round ass of hers all day long. She came back out of the house and turned on the sidewalk to hurry back to Josh, and a man in a green uniform stepped in front of her, blocking Josh's view of her luscious breasts that bobbled nicely as she jogged back to him.

It was a Springville Park Patrol cop that was confronting Veronica. The park patrol was a tiny organization whose only job was to patrol the parks in the village. Nothing else. Outside of the boundaries of the parks, they had no jurisdiction. Inside the parks, their job was primarily ceremonial. To provide a semblance of law and order, answer questions, help visitors and if a fight breaks out or someone reports a crime, to contact the Town of Concord PD, who would come and take the complaint or make the arrest. However, the new mayor, Samael Windecker, changed their names to the Springville Police Department, armed them with night sticks and tasers, and let them patrol anywhere they want. None were trained law enforcement officers. They were thugs and a blight on the village.

As Josh grew closer, he recognized the cop. It was Patrolman Michael Brown. Brown was an overbearing idiot, who had a near terminal case of large fish in a tiny pond syndrome. Josh watched him day after day breaking up basketball games or soccer games in the park because he thought the kids were too loud. He drove the neighborhood kids away from the park with his loudmouth and his arrogant swagger, and he liked to use his night stick as a pointer and to make threats. John Jarecki occasionally said that he'd like the guy to skate up and play a little one-on-one hockey with him. John learned his hockey when he lived in Montreal and, being American, he was a target for each cheap-shot artist on the ice, so John learned to play dirty hockey very quickly.

Brown made Josh's 'shit list' by grabbing Veronica's wrist and he began yelling at her. Then Michael Brown signed his own death warrant when he grabbed her by the back of the neck and drew his night stick. He was accusing her of littering and was ordering her to pick something up. In his mind, he merely pulled his night stick to emphasize his order. That thought flew out the window when he felt himself in a choke hold and his right arm, which was brandishing his black baton, was twisted up painfully behind his back. Then he heard a voice that terrified him to the bone. "Ah have killed men that were more worthy than you and never shed a tear. Don't give me a reason to add your name to the list."

It's been a long time since Josh had been that angry and he wasn't enjoying it.

The terrified cop's eyes widened. He has never heard a voice more devoid of humanity than this. He tried to reply, but the choke hold tightened and he couldn't speak. Then came that cold, terrifying voice. "Let go with both hands if you want to live." Josh tightened the choke hold and twisted his right arm to the point where Michael Brown thought he was going to shatter his elbow. Michael let go of Veronica's neck, then he dropped his night stick, then shit his pants. "Now go tell your boss you refuse to work second street park, it's too boring," and with a painful jab to the tailbone with his knee, Josh sent the jerk sprawling.

Brown picked himself up and turned to see who had attacked him, but Josh had turned around and was walking away with the woman he was bullying. The man also had his truncheon tucked in his belt. For some odd reason, the woman was castigating the man.

"You can't go around beating people up for bullying me," said Veronica. "I'm a big girl; I can handle it."

"Ah stayed outta it, but then he grabbed you and pulled his Billy club," said Josh. "That's the same thing as leaving a suicide note."

"Thank you, you are my hero, but there's ways of dealing with it less violently."

"Ah wern't violent, ain't no blood splattered on either of us!" insisted Josh.

"Hey Joshua!" said a glowing Andi Jarecki as she and her twins walked out to the end of the driveway. Andi was the joyful picture of expectant motherhood; her baby bump was growing larger with every day, as was her smile. "I thought you were marching with the VFW today."

"Nah, we had a bit of a falling out," said Josh as he took the folding chair from the pregnant pixie and carried it for her. "First they wanted me to wear my dress blues, when ah refused, they wanted me to wear my medal, and ah told them ah was still comin' to terms with that and I weren't ready to strut around with it. So, the vice commander of the post said, 'A real American would be proud to wear that medal.' Ah then informed that feller that a real American would be proud to punch a tyrant in the mouth too, take your choice.'"

"So that's a no?" the tiny dark blond giggled.

"That's my man, spreading joy and friendship wherever he goes," said the voluptuous Veronica as she squeezed his ass through his jeans.

"Ah don't have no quarrel with Dale Lomis, the post commander, but that vice commander Don Hoobler has gotta go. Maybe ah will come to grips with it after an election at the VFW hall and we get some fresh blood in office." They walked two blocks to the corner of Howard and Main at the doorstep of Worzil's Bar and Grille, and they set up the folding chair for Andi. Then Josh went inside the bar and a few minutes later came out with drinks for Andi and her girls. He made a second trip inside for drinks for himself and Veronica, and they enjoyed the refreshing lemonade as the parade began. They were soon joined by Macy and John Jarecki, who brought a thermos of ice water and a folding chair, and Macy sat next to Andi.

Soon the parade started, and they were led by the Springville High School marching band. For a small town high school band, they were pretty good, and they even had six students playing glockenspiels, a sound that Josh had never heard and one that Veronica hadn't heard in years. "GO GLOCKS!" she called as the kids marched past, but the kids looked angry. For decades, the Independence Day Parade was kicked off with the pledge of allegiance, but when the band formed up at the reviewing stand, the new mayor, Samael Windecker, simply said, "thank you," and sat back down without leading the pledge of allegiance.

Shocked, the kids recited it without the mayor and the crowd around them joining in.

The reviewing stand was one block up Main street so Josh and Veronica could hear and see the bands playing as they passed the reviewing stand. The bands were usually quiet when they left the reviewing stands, but the drum lines were tapping out a cadence as they passed and the twins Sandy and Madeline were dancing in front of their mom as the band marched by. Every unit had a color guard and every time the flag passed by Josh snapped to attention and saluted. "I thought you put your hand on your heart," said Veronica.

"The Defense Authorization act of 2008 modified Title 4 of the US Code to allow Veterans the honor of saluting the flag during hoisting, lowering, or the passing."

'The honor of saluting the flag,' is what Josh said and Veronica thought about it. She sighed and clutched his arm tightly. His patriotism was so sweet, so pure, and so out of fashion these days. No wonder why he has a hard time with it.

Word had gone back through the units of what the mayor did and there was a rumor that a medal of honor recipient was a block past the reviewing stand on the right. Actually, it was Paul Jarecki that arranged that. He was marching with the American Legion and he told the commander of the color guard where to find Josh. The color guard came to a halt, the commander called, "right face!" then ordered "Hand Salute." Shocked, Josh returned the salute. Then the commander ordered, "Ready... Front!" The veterans dropped their salutes and grinned as Paul stepped out of line, marched up to Josh, and shook his hand.

"What are you up to?" asked Josh.

"Our mayor has no honor, so we're saluting someone who does." He winked and got back in line.

"I'm gonna kill him," muttered Josh.

"Stop," said Veronica as she hugged Josh. "Let them love you, please?"

"Only because you ask."

Three more units did that during the parade: the fire department's color guard, the Town of Concord's Police color guard, and the Grimsby Pipe Band, a bagpipe and drum band from Grimsby Ontario. The shocker was when the Lancaster Suburban Knights, a senior drum corps from Lancaster, stopped and turned the band to face Josh, his friends, and neighbors. The band director raised his arms, and the band played Proud to be an American. The sound was so beautiful and perfect, and as always when the song got to that part, Josh choked up and wept.

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me...

Josh was surrounded by Veronica, Andi, and Macy, who hugged him through the end of the song, and even the twins were hugging his legs. When it was over, Josh blinked back the tears and realized that the band director was patting his shoulder. "Thank you for everything, Redneck." Then Josh recognized him. It was Bob Borst, the director of his barbershop chorus and coach of his quartet. He's also a marching band director. That's what a PhD in music will get you.

"Thanks Bob," said Josh as the band rotated ninety degrees and marched off.

Finally, a Town of Concord cop came up and asked what was going on, and Veronica said, "I guess they found out that Josh is a combat veteran."

"There's a lot of combat veterans here," replied the cop.

"I received a few medals," said Josh lamely. However, Julissa Tanaka was standing in the doorway of Worzils and she called out loud and clear what medals Josh had received, causing Josh to melt.

"No shit?" asked the cop.

"No shit," said Josh, who was dying to change the subject. "Hey, I found this on the ground, I figured it belongs to one of you fellows." And he handed the cop the Billy club he had picked up.

The cop examined it and saw that it was etched for the Springville PD, who were not authorized to carry weapons. "Go ahead and keep it, that way nobody gets hurt."

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Andi wasn't feeling well, so she went home to lie down after the parade, and Paul hadn't returned. Macy wanted to lie down as well, so while she and Andi relaxed in the shade of the grape arbor in Paul's back yard, Josh, Veronica and John Jarecki took the twins to the carnival. It appeared to Veronica that Josh's plan was to fill the twins up with so much sugar that they won't sleep until Monday. They loved the little kiddy rides like the little train and the baby roller coaster, but they still weren't ready for the rides that went up in the air.

When Paul caught up with them, Josh and John had completed a battle at the shooting range. Each twin had a teddy bear, as did Veronica, and John was carrying a bear for Macy. "Ah didn' realize a pastor could shoot so good," said Josh.

"Do you know what they call a pastor that can't shoot?" asked John. "A vegetarian."

That caused Josh to chuckle. John sticks very close to his oath of poverty and ends up eating a lot of game that was harvested from Paul's farm and occasionally from Josh's campground. John needs to learn to fish more and Josh has been meaning to take him to Cattaraugus creek for some trout. Veronica is becoming quite a fly fisher and often returns home from a fishing trip with Paul carrying a full creel. Maybe she should teach John.

"Ready to go watch the firemen play with water?" asked Josh. He had never seen a bucket brigade contest, and it sounded like fun.

"Oh kay," groaned the twins whose sugar meters should ping at 125% full. They've had funnel cakes, cotton candy, and snow cones, a healthy balanced diet for a five-year-old. Paul went home to check Andi and John led them up to main street where a 25 foot tall scaffold had been erected.

"There's a bucket at the top," said John, explaining the event. "the idea is to fill it with water with buckets, watch." Being the home team, Springville started. At the sound of the whistle, twelve firemen charged at the tower, and the captain shot up the thirty-foot ladder to the platform on top. Three other firemen spaced themselves out evenly on the ladder and one stood at the base of the ladder. The rest of the team grabbed the two and a half gallon canvas bucket and filled them at a tank and ran the buckets up to the base of the tower, where the guy at the base handed them up one after another. The three guys on the ladder each passed the buckets to the man above them until they got to the guy on top and he emptied the canvas bucket into the large bucket on top.

It was fun to watch. Water splashed everywhere and the guy at the base of the ladder got soaked from all the splashing and spilling as the buckets were handed up. John said the score was a combination of the time it took to hoist up sixteen buckets and how much water ended up in the tank on top, which didn't seem to be much. The twins were upset at first, but when the buckets started flying up the tower and water was splashing everywhere, they squealed and clapped. The teams were from all over Erie County and the guys were having a ball. There was Snyder, North Amherst, Lancaster, Main-Transit, West Seneca, Cheektowaga 1 and 2, City Line, Depew, Lackawanna, and the returning champions from John's old hometown of Williamsville - Hutchison Hose.

When Hutchison Hose came to the line, Josh walked out to the team, who all called out, "Padre!"

John and Paul's parents lived in the village for years, and Cecil Jarecki was a supporter of youth sports in the village. John was still known through his parents and he showed up at firemen's picnics throughout the county to cheer his team on. "Let's huddle up team!" and he brought the team in a huddle for a prayer for a safe, fun event.

Of course, the other teams were aware of this and started calling, "FOUL! THAT'S INVOKING DIVINE INTERVENTION! NO FAIR!"

After the prayer, John ran back to Josh, Veronica and the twins and at the whistle, Hutchison Hose showed again why they were the champions. They bested the other teams by over fifteen seconds and four gallons. When their score was read out, the exhausted 'base' man from Hutchison Hose emptied a bucket over John's head, then hugged his old friend. "Don't forget, water ball at Zoar Park tomorrow."

"Can't wait," said a soaked John. This was nothing compared to the soaking he will get if they win that tomorrow.

"Why did he do that Unka John?" demanded Sandy as she walked next to her favorite uncle on the way home.

"We're old friends and that's how we celebrate."

"But they're not 'pringville!" cried Madeline from her perch on Josh's shoulders. How could her Uncle John root for the other team?

"Who is your football team, Broncos or Bills?"

"BRONCOS!" cried the Denver born and raised twins.

"But you live here now, it should be the Bills. Who's your baseball team, Rockies or the Bisons?" asked John.

"ROCKIES!"

"But we take you to Bisons games at Sahlen's Field. Ok, who's your favorite hockey team, Avalanche or Sabers?

"HABS!"

That caused Josh and Veronica to laugh but John just muttered, "You've been watching hockey with your Aunt Macy again haven't you?" Macy was a teint dans la laine (dyed in the wool) Montreal Canadiens fan.

"She says Cole Caufield is hot," said Madeline. Cole was the Hab's leading scorer and quite handsome.

"He is," agreed Sandy.

"Ah think ah gotta pay more attention to this game o' hockey," said Josh as they turned up Paul and Andi's driveway.

"We got bears!" cried the twins as they saw their mom and Aunt Macy along with their favorite, Aunty Lucy.

"Williamsville a encore gagné le tournoi mon amour?" (Williamsville won the tournament again, my love?) said Macy when she saw her husband soaked to the skin.

"Bien sûr, ma chérie." (Of course, my darling)

"I don't know what they're saying but it's making me hot," whispered Veronica.

"You'd never know they've been married almost ten years," Josh answered. He studied French at Buff State. He needed a foreign language credit and Spanish was an easy A for him, so he took French. Not because he wanted a challenge, but because Spanish reminded him of Yesenia and her dad. When John and Macy met him and learned that he studied French, they spoke with him in French as often as possible.

"Je ne crois pas que tu aies réussi avec cet horrible accent." (I don't believe you passed with that awful accent) said Macy.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, elle me dit la même chose." (Don't worry, she says the same thing to me) said John.

J'ai appris le français pour le comprendre, pas pour le parler. (I learned French to understand it, not to talk it) said Josh. That started as a joke, but Josh listens to Canadian Radio and watches hockey with Macy and John and they watch the Montreal feed in French.

In a flash, the twins were in their swimsuits and showing their mother what the firemen were doing. Madeline stood in the shallow end of the pool and lifted a sand pail full of water over her head. Sandy stood on the deck and took the pail, lifted it up high and poured it out, then tossed it in the pool next to Madeline, who was already hoisting a second pail for Sandy to take. "That's it?" asked Andi.

"Yeah," said John as he dried off in the sun. "Not counting the twenty five foot tower and the ten other guys, that's what they did."

The sound of a bird chirping caused Andi to check her text messages. In a house as big as this, text messaging is the only way Paul, Andi, and Yi can be in contact with each other sometimes. "Paul is in the basement with Gus, he says he needs to talk to you guys," said Andi as she lay back in the lounge and snuggled with the twins' teddy bears.

"Let's go padre," said Josh and John slowly got up. He didn't want to go inside where the cold air conditioning would chill his damp clothes. And it happened. When he went indoors, that cold air hit him and chilled him to the bone. He was shivering by the time he got down to the basement.

Most of the basement was a large media room with an enormous screen and projection TV/Video center. Other than the TV in Paul and Andi's bedroom, this was the only TV that was in the house. Paul watched little TV other than football, baseball or hockey games, and when Andi and her girls entered his life, the tradition continued. Andi didn't want her girls addicted to screens. There was a large personal gym and a huge steam bath/shower off to the side of that.

Another basement room was Paul's retreat. A large train layout dominated the room. The track work was complete, and the scenery was slowly spreading across the construction. A steam locomotive pulling a long ore train was chugging around the layout. There were also several amateur radios in a corner. Paul was an avid HAM and Andi was interested in getting her license, but her life was in an uproar at the moment, so she put that on hold.

Josh and John entered the train room and Paul noticed John shivering. "Hutch Hose won I take it?"

"Yes they did," said John with chattering teeth.

"Get out of those wet clothes, toss them in the drier, and go steam to warm up. There's gym shorts and t-shirts on a shelf in the shower room."

"Ok," said John through chattering teeth. Paul was Big Brother. He practically raised John when they were kids, and when John went to seminary and had a huge crisis of faith, it was Paul that convinced him to forget the priesthood and go to divinity school and become a pastor. When Paul's sister-in-law gave John a huge dose of LSD, Paul and his brand-new wife, Melony, gave up their honeymoon to nurse him and talk him back down. Paul even forgave him for not stepping in and taking over the family business when Dad retired. Paul took over the business and built a home big enough for mom, dad, Macy, John and himself. Paul is the patriarch of the family and, oddly, Macy is the matriarch of Clan Jarecki, and it works.

Ten minutes later, John was back in the train room, warmed up from the steam shower, wearing a dry pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Both were too large for him. "I want to pick your brains about the new mayor," said Paul. "Samael Windecker appears to me to be against small business and is eager to hustle every big box business into the village."

People in Springville have one of two views of the village. Many want to keep Springville a cozy bedroom community and a local destination to get away from it all, relaxing bed and breakfasts, comforting restaurants, lush green parks, farmers' markets, street festivals celebrating the history of southern Erie County. Another view, the minority view, wants to convert Springville into a huge shopping destination - plazas and malls, every big box store that can be built lining Main Street. He wanted to tear down out of date historic buildings.

"When Mayor Hardey retired, he let the hounds in. I see nothing good in the future with Windecker in the mayor's office," said Gus. "Big Box stores are only allowed on the 219 frontage and all lots have been filled. That don't matter to Windecker, he's going to sell a few lots he owns in town and put a Tractor Supply on Main Street. It will kill Johnson's Feed Store and McCarthy's Ace Hardware." Of the four, Gus had lived in Springville the longest. He had moved there and opened a business nearly forty years ago. His house and business were on the very edge of the village and most people forget he's there.

"He wants to tear down the freight station," said John sadly. "He needs to tear it down to put up a Lowes." The freight station is home to Sally Anne's, a combination breakfast/lunch restaurant and flea market. The wide lot next to the freight station where trucks would park and wait for their cargo was a farmers' market every Wednesday and Saturday. The Saturday market was for tourists and city folk, as Josh would say, but the Wednesday market was like an open-air village meeting. Villagers from all over Springville would gather and have lunch at the outdoor café. It was not unusual to see Pastor John having lunch with Macy then walking off hand-in-hand for an afternoon of delight at least one Wednesday a month.

Paul thought for a while, then smiled. "Let's buy that building."

"What do you mean let's?" said Josh. "They're already terrified of you and Samael thinks you're going to take over the village. He'll force the price up if he sees it's you. "

"Just because I sink money into something doesn't mean I put my name on it. We'll form a new LLC, call it the Heritage Brothers or something, and lease out that huge back end." The 'huge back end' that Paul mentioned was a monstrous warehouse. There was space for a dozen small stores. "Gus, picture this... The parking lot side of the warehouse has those big roll-up doors for when trucks used to back up to the loading dock. The loading dock becomes a board walk, and when you roll up the doors, a storefront is exposed."

"The Springville B&O Station Mall!"

Josh sat in awe as Paul and Gus talked about their plans. Gus would be the visible partner in the LLC and would open a showroom displaying the cabinets that Gus and John make. They were discussing how much lumber they would need and how many carpenters would be needed. Paul started listing off plumbers and electricians that he could pull in for the project, while Gus mentioned an architect that would be perfect for the project. He was most interested in drumming up more business for John, who makes beautiful cabinets.

Josh leaned over and whispered to John. "Can you get involved with this?"

"Hmm, a religious teacher working as a carpenter... where have I heard of that before?"

"Y'all crack me up," chuckled Josh.

"Do you want in on this?" asked Paul.

"Friend, I have a twenty-dollar bill in my wallet and the poor thing is dying of loneliness. He's not going to get any companions until next Friday."

"I thought you just got a big raise," said John.

"Ah did, then we got us a little tractor what weren't cheap."

"You just raised seventeen million dollars! You didn't retain anything for expenses and use of your assets?" asked an astonished Paul.

"That ain't how ah work. Everything, cabin rent, food, water, porta-potties, it was all a donation to Adoption Advocates and Roswell Park."

John looked at Josh in shock. "Nobody does that," the pastor gasped.

"Then I'm a nobody."

"What about Veronica?" asked Gus.

"We're not married so her assets were not involved, but she said she supported me and my idea and after we're married we'll do it just like that every time."

John leaned over and whispered in Josh's ear, "That's why you earned that medal."

Josh was shocked. He has never spoken to John about that. "How...?"

"You should talk to a psychologist instead of my wife. You are not her patient and when she worries about you, she talks to me. I thought you were seeing a psychologist at the VA."

"The psychologists the VA gives me are more fucked up than ah am, pardon my French."

"I'll see if we can find somebody for you," said John.

"Doctor Lennox might be who he needs," said Paul.

"Right now, ah needs to see a square-badge limp dick named Brown," snarled Josh.

"Why?" the room went silent as Josh seethed.

"He laid hands on Veronica."

To John, laying hands on someone was far different from what Josh was angry about. To John, it's a form of spiritual support and healing. It's merely symbolic, but it involves a human touch. What Josh saw and stopped was an assault. "So?" asked John before Paul could stop him.

"Would you like it if I got all touchy-feely with Macy? She was in front of her own house and that bastard come up to her, grabbed her by the back of the neck and started forcing her head down. Then he pulled his billy club to strike her."

"Holy crap," groaned Paul.

"I came up behind him and read him the Gospel of Ephraim, Chapter One, Verse One. Run not oh targeted one for thy demise is soon, why must thou die tired?"

"You threatened him?" asked Paul.

"No, of course not. Ah don't make threats, that were a promise. Ah had him in a choke hold and his club arm twisted up behind his back just so he was sure to know that ah wasn't making empty threats. If he was a cognizant creature he would have known that he was seconds away from death."

"That probably put your name on Mayor Windecker's shit list," said Paul. "Welcome to Heritage Brothers LLC."

"I don't have any money to invest," said Josh.

"We're not looking for your money, just your name," said Paul. "Your name will attract investors, which we need to get this thing rolling. It happens a lot in the business world. A person is added to a board just for their name and it's not just a board with just Mister Didomissio listed."

"Ah can dig it. It'll be the first time this dumbass name of mine came ta any use."

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Josh and Veronica had never seen this many people in the park. Ever since John Jarecki was hired by Springville Congregational Church, he and Macy had been performing in the park. It didn't take long for Paul to join them. John plays guitar or the keyboard and occasionally the recorder, Macy most often plays the violin, then the keyboard, and Paul plays guitar or guitarrone, a Mexican six string bass guitar. He also plays the recorder. Macy was an incredible singer, an incredible soprano. John was quite good also and would make a good barbershop tenor. Paul wasn't bad, but he wouldn't sing except the occasional Christmas carol (which didn't fit in on Independence Day).

This year they invited Josh for one song and their friends from church and small but growing fanbase went wild as Josh stepped on the gazebo's stage. He and Macy sang America the Beautiful, all four verses. He did pretty well until they reached the third verse. When they started the third verse, the image of Craig Zigler popped up in his mind. Craig was one of those guys that looked at least ten years younger than he really was, and the horny drunk MILFs on vacation in Fort Walton Beach just ate that (and Craig) up. He was always at Josh's house, eating Yesenia's Mexican dishes and making fun of Josh's southern accent. Josh and Craig went everywhere together. Fishing, boating, buzzing the beach in Grandpa... a friendship that would last a lifetime.

Then, suddenly, it was over. Craig was lying on the deck of Ghost Rider 04, his flack vest sliced open and his guts lying on the deck next to him... The Doubleyous, Wyatt and Wayne were sitting on the ramp, both injured, their eyes open wide in terror as they watched their friend die. Josh choked up, squeezing his eyes tight, fighting back the tears and sorrow. Macy held his hand and sang the third verse solo.

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness,

And ev'ry gain divine.

Veronica watched from the front row of the crowd in tears herself. Josh pulled himself together for the fourth verse and when the song was over, he stepped forward and said, "Ah rightly apologize for that. Sometime the memory of friends takes over... what?" he looked down and Sandy was trying to say something.

He crouched down, then stood up, laughing. "The little one here wants to know why ah sing good, but I talk funny. Honey child, if we were in south Georgia, y'all would be the ones talkin' funny." The crowd laughed, which put Josh at ease. The sound of their laughter was a soothing balm, so it is no wonder why he sings with a comedy quartet. "Many of y'all might have picked up my southern way of talkin'. Ah'm from the Deep South, which to y'all is known as that flyover country on your way to Orlando. Don't be fooled, we're fierce fighters. We single handedly saved the union from foreign invasion."

Paul and Josh knew what he was talking about and they started picking a backup on their guitars and Macy brought her violin to her chin as Josh began singing.

In eighteen fourteen we took a little trip

Along with Colonel Jackson, down the mighty Mississip

We took along some bacon and took along some beans.

And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

The crowd loved The Battle of New Orleans and sang along with Josh. It wasn't planned; it was a silly song they played occasionally at John and Macy's house when Josh showed up to listen. They hadn't played it for a while, not ever since he started dating Veronica. When the song was over, Josh disappeared into the crowd and the Jareckis finished their set in time for the fireworks.

Across the street, Josh and Veronica sat on Paul and Andi's wide front porch. Andi was sitting with her poor swollen feet up and Paul sat next to her strumming the guitar. His chocolate lab, Wonka, curled up at his feet. "Where's Unka John?" whined Sandy.

"He's over with the fireworks guys saying a prayer for a safe show," said Paul as he casually piddled with a guitar riff that kept evolving into the riff from Stairway to Heaven. As he played, the chuff of a mortar launching a firework was heard throughout the village. There was silence, then high above Springville was a bright flash followed by a sharp BOOM! and Veronica could feel Josh wince and tighten up.

"Was that it?" asked tiny Madeline. "Was that the fireworks?"

"No," said Paul. "It's just telling people that the fireworks will go off soon. They'll do that three times."

"Photo flash," muttered Josh.

"Hmmm? Photo what?"

"Photo flash," said Josh. "We'd drop them on armed recon missions. The bright flash will light up an area for photographs."

"Don't they have night vision?"

"Yeah, it's good for some things, but for real detail you need light. We had incredible optics on our bird," said Josh. "Our Optics operator Mad Dog said with his equipment he could read the fine print on his re-enlistment contract from a half mile out."

A second photo flash went off so loudly that the entire crowd at the fair jumped. The marching band that was playing Boogie Wonderland paused for a second when the flash went off. The twins ran around the front yard squealing, their tiny hands covering their ears. "Do you military guys always talk like that?"

"Like what?"

"You make a joke out of everything."

Josh sighed. She won't understand. If you weren't there, you would never understand. Paul was there, but he was a doctor. He understood to a point. He wasn't there with blood and grease on his hands; he didn't have the permanent indentations on his face from wearing an oxygen mask when pulling high g maneuvers day after day. He never scraped the skin off his hands, reaching into a too tiny access panel to tighten a hard to find nut. He never got frostbite on his hands from hoisting a three hundred pound bomb rack into a B-52 at twenty degrees below zero. He answered her question with, "It helps dull the pain."

"What pain?"

Josh was right. She didn't get it. "Imagine that you're a young sergeant. You have a hugely important job. You repair the radar systems on the aircraft, a job that pays six figures in the outside world. Your wife just had a child. You are now eligible for government assistance. Food stamps. You pledged your life to protect your country, you are tops in your highly technical field, and you are eligible for food stamps. Stuff like that whittles down a man's pride. You let out the pain with snide remarks and humor."

"I didn't know that."

"It gets worse. The social experiments, the political shenanigans, the needless missions..." Josh sighed. "On the gunships, we were immune to much of it, so we were lucky and most of the time we could do our job." He showed her a picture on his phone of a point side down cone made up of red lines on a black background. The lines converged at the point of the cone where there was bright yellow light. "That's my job. That's all I really ever wanted to do."

"What is that?"

"That's the GAU-12 twenty five millimeter Gatling gun, it's called the Crowd Pleaser. It shoots 70 rounds per second. In this photo every fourth round is a tracer, so for every red line you see, there's four others heading to the target at the bottom."

"Wow," she gasped.

"We also had a MK44 Bushmaster 30 millimeter gun. Highly accurate, and it fires three rounds a second. Then there's the 105 millimeter howitzer cannon." He showed her pictures on the phone of him in a flight suit and helmet next to the barrels of his weapons, grinning.

"You loved your job. Emory told me you were the most passionate gunner he ever flew with."

"Still do," said Josh. "Ah only stopped when they said, 'Enough! Git off the plane!'"

The third BOOM! signified the start of the fireworks. Josh, Veronica, Paul and John walked out to the iron fence at the front of Paul and Andi's yard with the twins to watch. Andi and Macy sat on the porch with their feet up, both women insisting that this will be their last child. The sky filled with light as flashes of the fireworks went off in the warm night air. As the crowds stood transfixed at the display, Andi leaned over and whispered to Macy, "Did you talk to her?"

"Non, have not had the chance," said Macy.

"Are you going to tell Josh?" asked Andi nervously.

"Never!" gushed Macy. "That is not for me to tell. I will speak with Veronica and let her know."

As they talked, the fireworks hypnotized those below. Brilliant colors filled the night sky as rockets and mortars launched multicolored flowers that glowed and changed colors before fading. A crescendo of sound echoed through Springville as the sky filled with color and light, a spectacular grand finale that seemed to go on forever.

Veronica was worried that Josh would be triggered by the fireworks display like he was by the photo flash that caught him off guard, but as he looked up, he was calm, smiling. He pulled her tighter and said, "John Adams was right. He was so excited when the declaration was signed he wrote to his wife Abigale and said, 'I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.'"

"Please don't give the twins bells," groaned John. Shortly before Christmas, the twins got into the room where the handbells for the church choir were stored. The noise was so disrupting that the second Sunday of Advent became known as Black Sunday.

"Did he really say all that? Pomp, parades, shows, sports and all that?" asked Veronica.

"Yep, he did," said Paul as a last volley filled the sky with color, explosions, whistles, and parachutes slowly drifting to the ground. Across the street at the fair ground, a loud cheer went up, and the carnival returned to normal. Rides were spinning and twirling, thumps and clanks were heard as young men swung an outsized mallet to maybe ring a bell and win their loved one a doll. Sausage, burgers, French fries drown in vinegar, popcorn, cotton candy all tried to quench the appetites and huge ice-cold drinks in plastic cups that advertised Springville's patriotism were carried by most.

"These girls are never going to calm down," said Paul as he watched the twins run in circles with their arms outstretched.

"Why not let them jump in the pool in their skivvies?" asked Veronica. "That's how my dad got Magda and I to settle down when we went camping. We'd go down to the creek and play in the water as it got dark." She shrugged and added, "it worked for us."

Soon they were gathered on the back porch, the colorful party lights were on, the pool was glowing with the underwater lights that changed color and the twins were at the shallow end of the pool, lying back and kicking their feet. John sat at the foot of Macy's chaise lounge and she had her ankles up on his shoulders, tickling his ears with her toes. "Macy!" scolded Andi. "Your feet on his shoulders?"

The beautiful black woman shrugged and grinned. "Wouldn't be the first time."

As Paul laughed and John flushed furiously, Andi squawked in shock but ended up doing the same with Paul. Macy was right. It helped with their swollen feet and legs and, of course, Andi also tickled her husband's ears with her little toes. The twins had to investigate what was going on.

"What? What's with the smile?" asked Veronica.

He pulled her close and said, "This is what I want, it's all I ever wanted."

"The six bedroom Victorian with the pool, hot tub, and twelve car dealerships?"

"Fourteen," corrected Paul.

"No, not the trappings, or money, not even the house..." Josh went silent for a long time, then said so quietly that Veronica wasn't sure she heard him. "I'd go back to the moldy doublewide if there was love."

As a sleepy Madeline climbed up in Paul's lap and an equally exhausted Sandy fell asleep in her mommy's lap, Macy turned to Josh and Veronica and asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Housework," said Veronica.

"I'm going to cut Amelia's lawn," said Josh.

"Who?"

"A fellow disabled vet. I met her at the VFW, I promised I'd cut her lawn if she'd quit picking on me."

<><><><><>

The carnival was winding down for the night, and Josh was exhausted. He took a long hot shower to unwind his nerves and when he was out of the shower, Veronica met him. She was wearing a sheer black robe; it was completely transparent and utterly beautiful. He could see the soft hourglass shape of her body, the rise of her perfect breasts, even the tuft of dark blond fur between her legs.

Josh felt his cock rise to attention as they kissed and he cupped her taught asscheeks, pulling her tight to him. "It feels like it's been so long," he gasped as their lips parted.

"Yeah, so long," she said as her fingers traced up and down his cock. "That's a good description." She gave him a smile that caused his boner to throb harder and she led him by the cock into the bedroom. She's had longer cocks, but they were thin. Josh's cock was long and girthy. It stretched her out perfectly. It made her jaw ache sweetly with each blowjob. She found it near impossible to draw into her throat, but that didn't stop her from trying.

She led him to the bedroom, and she had a small fire burning in the fireplace. She wanted to have some fun, but first she had something important to do. "Come here," she sat on the bed and pushed back and urged him to sit between her legs.

"What's going o..." His voice was muffled as Veronica covered his mouth with her hand. Then she began stroking his cock with her other hand.

"You're mine now," she whispered in his ear. Her right hand wrapped around his cock, and she gently stroked him. "Look in the mirror," she hissed softly. "I have you..." He looked, and she did indeed have him. Her hand was gently stroking up and down his cock and he felt the urge to turn around and fuck her senseless, but he was so tired.

It was the most incredible (and only) reach-around handjob he ever had. As her right hand stroked up and down his throbbing pole, she whispered in his ear and nipped at it. Veronica came prepared. With her left hand, she reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of Astroglide, thumbed open the cap, and squirted some on her right hand. His pole became entirely slick and her hand slid up and down, as tantalizing as her pussy.

Now her free hand roamed over his body, a gentle touch here, a loving pinch there. All the while, her right hand slid up and down his cock, up and down, mesmerizing him. Occasionally she'd cup his balls with her free hand and heft them, as if judging how full they were. He was growing closer and closer to release. As he grew closer, her right hand slowed down. "Is it good?" she asked as he groaned. "Do you need to let go?" Her free hand sought one of his nipples and a finger circled that sensitive spot. "Aww too bad. You're going to have to wait. I want you to cum gallons, I want you to spray cum all over me. Cum on my tits," she gasped. "The thought of your sperm landing on my breasts... so warm... marking me yours... makes... me... so... hot!"

The need to cum intensified. The tension built up in Josh so much that he wanted to bend her over and fuck her senseless. He didn't care if he got the right hole, either. Josh grunted and arched his back as the demand grew more and more intense. "Are you ready baby? Do you want to let go? Then do it! Cum for me Ephie!"

Her right hand flashed up and down his slick cock. With a roar he came, shooting his semen into the laboratory sample cup she held in her left hand and aimed his cock into. Josh jerked and grunted from the intensity of the climax. Never had he cum this hard from a handjob. His body shook and jerked, and finally he was able to calm down. He leaned back on Veronica, who had capped the sample cup and held him close with both hands. "I'll drop that off at the lab tomorrow and we'll see how many swimmers you have for me," she whispered.

"With all the radiation I took they probably have two heads and legs like a tadpole," said Josh as he turned to kiss the woman he loved most dearly in the world.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Independence Day started for Kenny Johnson and Yi-jin Carlson in the woods. Yi had never been camping in a northern forest. She was a tall, slim, and very sexy Korean-American Florida girl. She was raised on beaches and surfing, but that became her past as she became the governess of Paul and Andi Jarecki's twins, Sandy and Madeline, and the executive chef for Mr. and Mrs. Jarecki. She was hired as an executive chef on his yacht, the 72 foot Andi's Dream, but she got along so well with the children that Paul and Andi hired her and swept her off to Springville with them. Both Paul and Andi were busy professionals and really needed a nanny and a chef. Paul is a cardiologist with a degree in law, but he spends his time running his father's automobile dealership empire. He still does a few shifts a month at the VA hospital. Andi is a pulmonologist and works with her best friend, Lucy, at a VA clinic.

Kenny Johnson is an Army Veteran who did three tours in Korea hoping to find a Korean wife, and had to come home to run the family business when his parents were critically wounded in a car accident. Months later, the woman of his dreams walked into his store. Kenny and Yi were crazy for each other, but both had been burned in bad relationships, so they were cautious about their feelings for each other. Communication is a huge issue with them. Kenny is incredibly shy around Yi, and Yi hides her feelings constantly.

Somehow, Andi convinced Yi to spend a full day with Kenny, and both had the entire 4th of July weekend off. They had been playing "touch and giggle" for months, but they wanted to explore their relationship and work on their communication, so they ended up at Josh's campground. They said that they wanted privacy, so at seven in the morning, Josh fired up 'Little John,' connected the small hay wagon, and hauled them and their camping gear up to the private campsite that he and Veronica made. Along the way, he gave his tourist spiel, pointing out interesting things like the two inflow creeks, the spring water tap for drinking water, and the pool at the top of a small waterfall.

"You guys camp up here?" asked Yi. She couldn't picture the elegant Veronica von Köster camping in the woods. The campsite was a beautiful, thick pine forest. The tree trunks were free of branches for ten feet above them so they could hike without getting hit with branches. There was a clean brand new outhouse, a picnic table, a firepit ringed with rocks, a large lean-to for storing firewood in, and a level pad with drainage for a tent.

"Yeah, Ronnie and I cleaned up this clearing and made a campsite for ourselves. We have been here camping a couple of times. We really enjoy it. On a warm night it's better than the cabin."

"This is awesome! What do I owe you for camping?" asked Kenny.

"Nothing, but if you want to pitch in, there's a dead tree bucked and ready to split about two hundred yards that-a way. There's a wedge and a sledge in the outhouse. You can burn all you want," said Josh. "Just stack what you split so I can collect it later."

"Really? You don't want any...?"

Josh shrugged. "I wouldn't know what to charge. When I come get you on Sunday tell me what a fair price is." He gestured around and said, "It's fifty acres, roughly square. You can walk in any direction you want. If you hit barbed wire or a paved road, you hit the edge of my property. All I ask is clean up when you're done, if you see damage to any of the cabins give me a call, and sprinkle ash down the outhouse after you use it."

"Ash?" asked Yi, a bit confused.

"There's a bucket in the outhouse; it's my Aunt Posey's ashes. She always wanted to be buried in New York," said Josh as he got on Little John. "Text me or give me a call if you need me and I'll come a runnin', otherwise I'll see you at sixteen hundred on Sunday afternoon."

"Aunt Posey?" said Yi in a small voice.

"Just don't tell anyone we're here except our folks if they ask. We're here for alone time," said Kenny.

"Aunt Posey is in the outhouse?" asked Yi.

Josh gave her a wink. "I got to get back before the parade starts. Have fun kids." And he was off.

"I... I can't... not with Aunt Posey!" Yi was almost in tears.

"No, no, come here and look." Kenny led her to the outhouse and in the outhouse was a tin bucket with a fold up lid. He opened the lid and there were ashes, burned pieces of wood, and a tin scoop. "It's ash from the campfires. You sprinkle some of it down the hole when you're done and it absorbs odors. Think of it as flushing."

"But Aunt Posey?"

"It's an old joke from living in the country. He was pulling your leg." When he said that, Yi wound up and hit Kenny on the shoulder. "Ow! Why did you do that?"

"Because I can't reach Josh."

"Let's set up the tent." Kenny had a nice nylon cabin tent and Yi had a few problems with the flexible poles, but soon they had their tent erected. Near the tent there was an ancient shed that was missing a wall, and Yi asked what that was for. "That's a lean-to. This used to be a scout camp so that's probably where the scouts spent the night when they hiked here."

Soon, the campsite was set up. They stowed their coolers in the lean-to and decided to explore. They went for a walk and found the fallen tree that Josh had mentioned. The tree was sliced into eighteen-inch segments and stacked to the side. Kenny examined one of the pieces and nodded in approval. "Dry as a bone, this will split nicely."

"I don't see what's wrong with this tree," said Yi.

"There's nothing wrong with it. Want to give me a hand splitting some of this wood?"

"Sure, but he said the tree was, y'know... fucked."

Kenny laughed a clear laugh of good humor. "He said bucked. That means to cut a delimbed log into pieces of specific lengths. This tree was bucked for firewood so the pieces are called rounds."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"The same way you know that a nautical mile is eighteen hundred meters. You grow up with it."

"Eighteen hundred fifty two meters," said Yi.

"There's a history of logging and wood cutting in this area. I know some loggers that would pay Josh good money for these larch trees. They're great for fencing, phone poles, railroad ties..." They hiked back to the campsite and retrieved the wedge and sledgehammer from inside the outhouse. They also grabbed the umbrella for the picnic table and set that up before returning to the felled tree.

"I thought you used an axe for this," said Yi as Josh tapped the wedge to set it into the center of a round.

"No, axes get stuck. They're for cutting across the grain, this is with the grain. I've used a splitting maul, but I like this way best." He wound up and struck the wedge and with a chink! it was driven halfway into the round. Yi could hear the wood creek and fibers snap as the wedge split the round open. Kenny took three more swings to drive the wedge into the round and split it in half.

Then he reset the wedge and split the halves into firewood size chunks. Soon Yi began helping. She set the rounds into position for Kenny, held the wedge as he tapped it into the wood and helped him split the rounds, stacking the split wood to the side. Kenny took his shirt off and continued to split the wood. His muscles were built up from lifting and carrying forty and fifty-pound sacks of feed and grain for years, and they looked impressive. She knew guys who spent hundreds of dollars on gyms and trainers who will never be cut like that. In the end, they split five rounds, and each round was split into over a dozen pieces of firewood.

"Do you like doing that?" asked Yi as she carried the wedge and the sledgehammer back to the campsite. Kenny's arms were filled with firewood as they walked back.

"I love it, I really do. I grew up splitting the wood for Grandpa Archie's potbelly stove. It's good exercise and when you're angry, it's a good way to work off that anger." He tossed the wood down next to the fire pit then took his hatchet and went off into the trees and returned with several long limbs, He cut several three foot long stakes and sharpened them to a point and pounded two of them a foot into the ground a foot apart from each other, then pounded two more into the ground like that about three feet away, then he piled up the firewood, the stakes he drove into the ground held the wood in place. "Quick and easy wood rack," said Kenny. "It will hold quite a bit more."

"Now what?" asked Yi.

"I'm going to go wash this sweat and dirt off and then we can do something. Explore, go fishing, go berry picking..."

"Berry picking?"

"Yeah, perfect time of year for blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, a bit late for wild strawberries but there may be some."

"Are there elderberries?"

"Yep, but if you aren't sure of the difference between them and poke berries, I'd avoid them," said Kenny. He grabbed a towel and a bottle that he showed Yi. "This is camp-soap, it's completely biodegradable, it won't harm the pond, and it won't dry out your skin. I use it for everything including the dishes." He kicked off his sneakers, slid on a pair of sandals and, with a cheery "I'll be back soon," he walked off into the woods.

Yi had to follow to see what he was doing. She convinced herself it was just to see where to wash being the reason to follow him, and she followed him close to the pond where the stream splashed over a six-foot waterfall. There Kenny stripped and stepped under the gentle, tumbling water. Yi was impressed. She always knew that Kenny was muscular, but he wasn't a big beefy fellow, somewhere between wiry and muscular. And his cock was perfect. Semi erect, it appeared to be larger than she was used to. Automatically she took her phone and captured a photo of him under the falls, then tried to sneak away, but she was transfixed.

Kenny turned around and saw her and chuckled, which broke the spell she was caught under, and she dashed back to the campsite. He stepped out from under the waterfall and dried off. As he pulled his shorts on, he noticed she was gone. When he got back to the campsite, Yi was flustered. "I didn't mean..."

"It's ok, don't worry about it."

"No," said Yi, "I'm not like that, I don't go peeping..."

"It's ok, you're in a new place, you want to look at the surroundings, and I'm a familiar sight. I understand."

"Are you always this understanding?" she demanded.

"No," said Kenny coldly. "If you want fireworks, just bring my father into the conversation."

"Your dad is awesome!" said a shocked Yi. "I can't picture Dave being mean to anyone."

"Davis Johnson is the man that married my mother and raised me and my sisters and I love him with all my heart," said Kenny. Then he went ice cold. "Wehrle Holloway is the man that raped my mother and knocked her up with me. The only thing he gave me was this ridiculous name. He abandoned us before mom came home from the hospital with me. He's the man that's working with that pud sucking bastard Samael Windecker to shut my folks down. They want to open a Tractor Supply, and to do that they want to drive us out of business so Wehrle can sell the lot to a developer."

"Your name isn't ridiculous. Kenny isn't bad," said Yi.

"My name is Kensington, after Kensington Avenue that connects the village of Snyder to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo."

He was seriously in a dark mood. Yi has never seen Kenny, or anyone else that angry. "Uh, sorry I mentioned it... is there anything that would cheer you up?"

Kenny glared at her with a jaundiced eye. "There may be one thing."

"What would that be?"

Kenny took a deep breath, then his arms shot out and his fingertips gently touched Yi's ribs. "Ticklish girls!"

"KENNY!" she shrieked as the ticklish pleasure shot through her. She coiled up and danced away, but when she realized he wasn't going to stop, she dashed off through the trees. They darted around, playing keep away, and their cries and laughter echoed through the forest for a long time.

<><><><><>

That night, they ate fish that they both caught in Cattaraugus Creek, along with fried sliced potatoes and roast corn. For dessert, Yi made a Korean treat her grandmother taught her called Patbingsu. It was made of sweet beans on shaved ice, along with the fresh raspberries and blackberries that they picked, sweetened with condensed milk. It's the Korean version of a sundae. "Oh, this is excellent!" said Kenny. "Better than the sundaes I would get at Mister Coffee over there."

"This isn't real Patbingsu," said Yi. "The shaved ice in Patbingsu is made from frozen sweetened milk. I just used water ice and added condensed milk."

"That's what they used at Mister Coffee," said Kenny as he enjoyed the cool, delicious desert. It was late and they could hear the fireworks in the village. In the woods, it was pitch black. There was no moon that night and the high clouds hid the stars. The only light was the little circle of light made by their campfire. The frogs at the pond, the crickets in the nearby field, and the occasional hoot of an owl sang to them. They finished their treats and tossed the cardboard cups they ate them from into the fire and watched the wax coating flare up as the cups burned.

"Why do you love me?" Yi asked, completely out of the blue. Kenny had never told her he loved her and he did everything he could to stay cool and be a friend.

"Why is the sky blue?" asked Kenny. "I love you because I love you."

Yi softened and leaned against him and hugged his arm. She softly whispered, "bullshit." She punched his arm and said, "tell me!"

Kenny pulled her close and they gazed into the crackling fire. "I love you because of everything that you are and everything that you inspire me to be. Whenever I talk to you, you listen better than anyone I know, and you never talk down to me."

"I would never talk down to you, why would anyone do that?" asked Yi.

"I'm just that dummy that quit the Army to sell cow feed," said Kenny with a sigh. "I hear it all the time. But you, you're different, you treat me with respect. I can feel your love whenever you are near."

"Me? But... I... I never said that I loved you."

"I didn't say that I loved you either, but you asked me about it and I let you know how I feel."

Yi's face screwed up in concentration, then she finally said, "is it ok if I don't come out and tell you I love you for a while yet? Everything is changing so fast and it's very confusing."

"That's fine, just as long as you love me, I'll be happy."

"I'm going to make up our sleeping bags," said Yi, and she ducked into the tent. She turned on the large flashlight and the tent lit up like a giant ornament. Kenny stirred the dying fire so the unburned wood would catch, which it did, causing the flames to grow and light up the camp site. Kenny saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. They were about four feet off the ground and they glowed from a reflection of the light of the campfire, and they left fairly quickly. Kenny guessed they were from a deer investigating them.

"Come on in," said Yi quietly, and Kenny walked over to the tent. He crawled through the door, but before he drew his feet in, he turned over and took off his sneakers, clapped them together to shake off the dirt, and stashed them in a corner of the tent. He couldn't find the flashlight, so he asked Yi, "which direction are we facing?"

"We're facing the door so we can keep an eye on the fire."

"Smart girl," said Kenny with a grin. He peeled off his jeans, t-shirt, and socks and quickly discovered that Yi didn't just unroll the sleeping bags. She unzipped them and laid them out flat.

"Problem?" she asked.

"Not at all. I hate sleeping in a sleeping bag. Too confining." He found she laid his heavy-duty bag down as a mattress and was using her lighter weight sleeping bag as a quilt. He crawled under the sleeping bag and lay on his back. In a moment, Yi snuggled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. His hand trailed over her skin and found out she was naked!

"I sleep in the nude," she said, answering his unasked question. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not in the least," said Kenny and he held her close... just what she wanted.

Images of all the men she had known flashed through her mind. So many of them were incredibly rich and irresponsible, but that's what you meet when you spend your days on large yachts. The boys she met on the beach were just that, boys. None of them were like her dad, a hard-working veteran who did everything to make his family comfortable. Now that she and her older brother Brian were out on their own, he could relax the only way he knew, by working hard as a charter yacht captain.

Maybe that's the key. Most of those beach boys that Yi dated and was so enamored with were, in reality, pampered children whose idea of work was to beg their rich parents for more money. She quickly lost respect for them and their parents. As for the other chefs she encountered, many of them didn't date girls.

Could that be why she tried to seduce Paul Jarecki on his maiden/honeymoon voyage on Andi's Dream? He was as hardworking as they came, and he made his empire with his own hard work and with Macy Jarecki's help. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Kenny whisper, "What's wrong honey?"

Huh? Oh God, she was crying. She always felt like such a piece of shit for trying to make a play for Paul, with his new wife right there! Andi understood her loneliness and instantly forgave her. Then Andi hired her! "Oh, just remembering New Years Day when Andi hired me... I didn't know how..." she choked up again.

"That kinda brought us together, didn't it? A step in the journey toward each... ow! Why did you hit me now?"

"Because you're a guy, you're not supposed to know these things."

In the dark, Kenny pulled her close and they kissed. Her lips were so sweet, and her tongue reached out for his eagerly. Their heads spun as they kissed. It was perfect, the perfect kiss with the perfect person in the perfect situation. When their lips parted, Yi hit him again. "Who gave you permission to kiss me?" she demanded.

"I had to take a chance."

"Good. I like a man with nuts," she said and her hand closed around his nuts, which caused him to laugh. "You think I'm funny?"

"Just being near you makes me smile," and he pulled her close for another kiss.

When their lips parted, they were panting, their foreheads resting against each other, her hand still caressing his balls. "You didn't take your shorts off," she whispered.

"I was afraid that would be a bit forward," he said with a smile.

"Tell you what," said Yi. "If you promise you won't do anything that could make me pregnant..."

"I promise."

"Ok, lift your butt up..." and she pulled his shorts down, his hard cock springing free and slapping against his flat abdomen. "Nice," hissed Yi as her hand wrapped around his cock, her index finger gently rubbing a large drop of precum around the head of his cock, causing sensations of pure pleasure to shoot through his body.

He shivered as they kissed again, this time his hands exploring her small, exquisite breasts and hard nipples. They were poking at her t-shirt all afternoon and he went crazy, pretending to ignore them. He nibbled and nipped at her buds, making her gasp, and when he began suckling them, she curled an arm around his neck and held his head firmly in place. She gasped and cooed as Kenny made gentle love to her breasts while she explored his cock with her free hand.

Yi realized Kenny would suckle her breasts all evening if she let him, so she pushed him back and began kissing her way down his chest. She nipped and suckled his nipples for a while, causing him to gasp and fall back to his elbows. "Lay down, dear," she whispered.

Dear? She called me dear! Kenny's heart soared, but Yi had more than sweet nothings on her mind. She had felt his cock rising through his boxers and she wanted to learn more about him. "Is it true what they say about you farm boys?" she asked in the dark.

"Huh? I'm not a..." but he felt her hands wrap around his cock.

Her hands were tiny and when they wrapped around his cock, her fingertips far from the tips of her thumbs. She wrapped both hands around his cock, one above the other, and the head of his cock was still exposed. "Oh! It's twue! It's twue!" she said, which got Kenny laughing, remembering the dark bedroom scene from the movie Blazing Saddles.

Fighting back the chuckles, Kenny said, "a little decorum please?"

"I do beg your pardon," said Yi in a bad British accent. "May I fondle your genitalia, sir?"

"Oh please do, my dear," said Kenny. Now they were both fighting back the laughter. It was so silly! There they were in the pitch black forest, naked and fondling each other, and cracking jokes. Then Kenny said, "Madame, would you be so kind as to pass the pussy?"

That caused Yi to laugh so hard that she buried her face against Kenny's thigh, even when he picked her up and laid her lithe frame atop him. But the laughing stopped when his tongue touched her clit. Lightning bolts of pleasure shot through her as his tongue gently danced over her clit, then wriggled into her tight vagina.

"Oh god Kenny!" she gasped around his cock as he gently drove her to heaven. He suckled on her clit with varying intensity, sometime so gentle she could barely tell he was doing it, and other times so aggressive she wanted to jump up and scream. All the while, a large finger slid in and out of her vagina. It was perfect. It distracted her from blowing him, but who could blame her if she spent a moment to enjoy the best pussy licker she ever met?

Just as Yi decided it was time to concentrate on getting Kenny off, he added a second finger, which was stretching her out nicely. "Yesssss," she hissed as the pleasure built and her body trembled. Waves of pleasure were emanating from her pussy, and as the intensity built up, he began to pinch and roll her erect little nipple. "Oh god Kenny. What are you doing to me?" she groaned.

That was what Kenny wanted to hear. He added a third finger and began finger banging her pussy with deep, rapid strokes. He continued to suckle on her clit, and he drove his little finger into her tight anus. That's when Yi's orgasm hit. Her cries and squeals of pleasure echoed through the forest as she lost control of her body. She pushed her pussy against Kenny's mouth; at the same time, she tried to get away from those fingers that savagely drove her to ecstasy. She tried to roll off of him, but he held her tight as her climax peaked. "KENNYYYYYY!" she shrieked, then went limp.

When her eyes fluttered open, Yi found herself lying next to Kenny. He was cradling her in his muscular arms and planting gentle kisses on her cheeks. 'God, if this is what he can do with his fingers, I'm in for a hell of a ride,' Yi thought to herself. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

The world swam back into focus for Yi. She heard the ever present chirp of crickets, the high-pitched belch of frogs down at the pond, the hoot of an owl letting all know who was in charge at night, the soft hiss of the wind in the treetops. "You were amazing," she said, and they kissed sweetly. She reached down to find his cock still hard and throbbing. She reached for his balls and he winced. "What's the matter?"

"A bit tender," he groaned. His balls had been aching for her all day, but he expected nothing but maybe a goodnight kiss. Getting her off was the sexiest thrill he had ever experienced, and now his balls were aching sharply for her. They hurt so badly he felt nauseous.

"Here, let me help," said Yi. She scooted between his legs and urged, "Come on, spread them wide for Yi," and she pushed his thighs far apart then cupped his balls gently with one hand, then with the other hand she pulled the skin of his cock down taut over his throbbing shaft, then she began to plant kisses up and down the underside of his pole. Pulling the skin down like that made his cock even more sensitive to her touch and when her tongue tip began a swirling butterfly light dance on the sensitive underside, Kenny went through the roof.

"Yi! Oh God!"

She peered at him and could see in the gloom that he was watching. Ok Mister Johnson. Watch this. She slowly and seductively closed her mouth over the head of his cock, then ran her tongue around and around the big plum size head until she felt she was ready. She relaxed, let out a breath of air, then swallowed his cock as deep as she could. She heard him gasp and decided that this was payback for that mind bending orgasm he gave her. She raised and lowered her mouth on his cock, her tongue slithering wetly on the sensitive underside. Over and over, she sucked his cock into her throat and back out. She could tell he was getting close; his swollen balls were tightening up.

"Give it to me honey, give me every drop," Yi said with a seductive sigh, then swallowed his cock again. To this day Kenny didn't know what set him off, her lips, her tongue, or hearing the woman of his dreams calling him honey. It didn't matter. With a strangled growl he came, gushers of semen filling her mouth. She swallowed one, no two... three! She swallowed three huge mouthfuls of his cum and continued to nurse at his cock until he was too sensitive and pushed her away.

Kenny lay panting in the dark. It was like she sucked the life out of him... and it was so good. He reached around and found her curled up near the door of the tent, and he crawled up to her. She seemed nervous, and she was. A rich yacht owner liked to slap her around after a blowjob and, for some reason, the fear of that man still coursed through her. But Kenny didn't slap her. He kissed her tenderly and crawled under the sleeping bag with her and pulled her close... almost like he really did love her.

"Are you angry that we didn't have... you know... real sex?" asked Yi.

"No, of course not," said Kenny as he pulled her tight to him. "Not in the least. It was a lot of fun... and a whole lot more than I expected on first date."

"Are you this sweet to everyone?"

"No," said Kenny. "This is reserved for Korean/American chefs who can put up with The Twins all day long."

"Good, 'cause I don't want to be getting jealous every time I see an Asian girl looking at you."

"Nope, not me, you're more than enough."

"You know," whispered Yi. "I have a cure for that yellow fever of yours."

"What is it?"

"Me."

Kenny chuckled and gave her a sweet kiss. "Good night my darling."

"Good night my love," she said, which made his heart race.

"Can I ask, are you on birth control?" asked Kenny.

"Of course, why?"

"I was wondering exactly why you asked me not to do anything that would get you pregnant." Yi giggled in the dark and snuggled closer to Kenny. "Is there a reason?" he asked.

"Yes. It's how Andi landed Paul."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

It was about ten thirty in the morning. Veronica was folding the load of laundry that Josh had started before he cut their lawn. He cut and trimmed their beautiful lawn, and it was Josh that made the lawn look that good. He didn't cut it with a riding mower; he used an old gas mower with the blade honed to razor sharpness and the motor tuned to perfection. Every time he cut the lawn, he cut it twice. He cut it parallel to the street out front, the height setting at 4, and he carefully overlapped each pass by half a mower width. Then he notched the cutting deck down to 3, and cut the lawn perpendicular with the street, 90 degrees off of the first mowing. The dual cut like that made the lawn look like a green carpet. The next time he cut the lawn, he would do the same thing, but cut the lawn with diagonal passes. Mixed with proper applications of weed killer and fertilizer and proper watering, the lawn looked spectacular.

"Did you manage a golf course in a previous life?" Veronica asked.

"No, we had to keep our yards cut properly in base housing at Hurlburt Field but Yesenia never did it when I was deployed, so I hired a guy to do it and he did a great job. So, I picked his brain for his secrets. When my buddies went on a deployment, I would cut their lawn for them, that's how I honed my superpower."

When he finished cutting the lawn on the day after Independence Day, he looked wistfully across the street at the carnival, getting started up for its second day. Somehow, the joy had drained out of the carnival, and he didn't know why. He felt as if he were rushing toward the end of something, like he was dashing to a breakup. He couldn't shake the feeling of sorrow. Was he still mourning Craig? Or was it something worse? Sadly, he loaded their push mower and the weed wacker in the back of Spartacus and headed to Amelia's house. Work is the cure for stupid premonitions.

<><><><><>

Veronica dumped the last of the laundry on the pool table when she heard a gentle tap-tap at the front door. Tigger raced through the house, making an odd whirring sound as he ran to hide in his basement kingdom. A sure sign that someone was out there. Veronica looked and saw a smiling face at the door. "Come in!" she called.

"Bonjour!" called Macy as she entered the pool room where Veronica was folding laundry on the pool table. Macy had with her a rolling briefcase that models normally drag along from photo shoot to photo shoot. Along with books containing photos of their work, models usually carried extra underwear, tank tops, shorts, enough makeup for an impromptu photo or date, and a spare pair of shoes or two in their traveling office.

"Can I offer you some coffee? Tea? Juice? Water?"

"I would like a decaffeinated coffee if you have it, otherwise water is fine."

"We have all kinds of coffee," said Veronica as she led Macy into the kitchen. "Josh has a favorite for the first cup of the morning, but I like to experiment." Macy chose an interesting-looking option and Veronica started the Keurig.

They settled in at the kitchen table; the windows were open, and the air brought the smells of the carnival, making Veronica hungry for the Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers and a funnel cake. She hoped Josh would be home in time for lunch. She normally didn't eat food like that, but if Josh did, who's to say how big a 'little bite' of his lunch should be? He really wasn't eating much lately, and that was starting to worry her. "What brings you around?" Veronica finally asked.

Macy sighed. "I am worried about Joshua." She took some notes out of her briefcase and studied them for a moment, then said, "does he have a counselor?"

"There's a VA doctor that Josh sees, he keeps complaining that he doesn't know anything about his case and people in general." Veronica opened her laptop and logged into the VA using Josh's credentials.

"He doesn't mind you having access to his medical information?"

"No," said Veronica as she followed the confusing maze of links through the VA website. "He has no patience with this... and to be honest, this website is really a mess... here we go. I found his clinical notes."

"If you truly are authorized to look at his records, what do they say about Impostor's Syndrome?"

"Looking..." Veronica searched through the records and finally said, "No mention of Impostor's Syndrome, this counselor talks about Displaced Anger and PTSD."

"That's it? PTSD and displaced anger?" Macy asked, then she groaned softly. "Mon Dieu! He's right to complain. His condition is far more complex. He is suffering from survivors guilt and now he is suffering Impostor Syndrome."

"Survivor guilt I completely understand, neither he nor his pilot has told me much of the crash but from what he said I can understand... but Imposter Syndrome? What is that?" Veronica is well educated but if the required subject didn't apply directly to her MBA, she only remembered the subject matter long enough to pass the test. If it was covered in her psychology 101 class, she's forgotten it completely.

"Joshua received a tremendous award for doing some tremendous deeds. But in his mind he just did what any man would do and he suddenly received the highest honor the nation could bestow. He truly believes that he does not deserve that medal, it belongs to a hero and to him, that's someone else. Everyone is calling him a hero and he doesn't know why. He did what he was trained to do like everyone else was trained."

"What do I do?" asked Veronica. "I mean, until he can find decent counseling."

"Make him your hero, sometimes just remind him when he does something nice that it counts too," said Macy, who suddenly found Tigger curled up in her lap. "He doesn't have to justify his medal, that already happened."

"Is that why he's always so busy doing things? To justify that medal? Right now, he's cutting the lawn and picking up for a toxic old witch up on Argentine Avenue."

"That is a possibility," said Macy as she stroked Tigger. "I wonder if the baby can feel the cat purring." Tigger lay in her lap until he felt something inside of Macy move. He swatted her tummy and tried to settle down again, but again he felt the baby kick. Tigger swatted again, then hopped off Macy's lap with a yowl of anger and trotted away, leaving the Nubian beauty laughing that crystal laugh of hers. "I suppose the baby prefers dogs."

Macy remembered the load of clothes she had to fold and asked, "Is that why you wanted to talk? You know that Josh isn't going to get professional help until he decides himself that he needs it."

"No, that is what you would call an ice breaker. I came to talk about you."

"Me?"

"I was reminiscing on my past," said Macy as she sipped her coffee. "You and I we both have a Cendrillon up bringing."

"Cendrillon?" asked Veronica, trying to wrap her lips and tongue around the French pronunciation.

"Oui, it is French, it means 'little ashes' and is the title of a fairy tale. You learned her name as Cinderella."

"How is that? I never had a pumpkin carriage."

Macy chuckled and relaxed as little Cyryl or Katarina (they don't want to know the baby's sex until birth) did a tap dance on her kidneys. "Non, no pumpkin carriage, no mice for servants, and our wicked stepsisters were co-workers. We know where each other came from and I dare say we can call ourselves sisters if we wish."

"I don't understand."

"We both chose the same path in life, we found employment that could raise us up above our life sweeping cinders, then we both dove into université. We found meaningful employment and we found men who we could share our lives together with."

"I see what you mean but I don't understand what you are getting at," said a very confused Veronica.

"The night before John and I wed, I broke down. I could not give my loving, virgin fiancé my virginity, mine was taken against my will, and I do not know how often because of the drugs I was given. But I confessed my lack of innocence to John and I was able to give my man, the father of my baby, my clear conscience on our wedding night."

"Your point is?"

Macy looked pained and chose her words carefully. "Josh is working hard to tell you about his past, but much of it is very painful. Will he tell his entire story to you or anyone else? That is not for me to say, but he is trying. He told you about Hani, and he told you about Yesenia, and he told you about Christy and the others, no?"

"Yes he did. What does this have to do with me?"

"That was very embarrassing for him, but he told you and you forgave him immediately, did you not?"

"Yes, of course I did! And I let him know that he can talk to me about anything."

"Have you spoke to him about the skeletons in your closet?" Macy reached into her briefcase and withdrew a notebook and opened it. It had many large format photos of photo shoots for different products. Considering her dark, dark skin, Macy had quite a few images in there. She slid the notebook to Veronica, who studied the photographs with an educated eye. She too has a book like this and more, and she suspected Macy had several more books too, but this one was the one you gave to a prospective employer when looking for work. This is the one with the model's best work.

Then she stopped. It was a shoot for Black Velvet, a Canadian whiskey distillery. Black Velvet had a theme that worked. Three or more girls in black velvet gowns. Nothing fancy, usually a white girl or two, a Hispanic and a black girl or an Asian. Sets were simple, and the girls struck simple poses with a 'come hither' expression on occasion.

"I like this shoot!" said Veronica. She saw the watermark at the bottom of the shot. "It's the Daniels Masterson agency that shot this; I did a lot of work for them." Then Veronica pointed to the Hispanic girl. "That's Norma Renee, and the redhead that's Corinne Favreau, that's Marie-Claude, something Dagenais. This was an example of how to pose for Black Velvet. They drilled this shoot into our heads, over and over, this is how to be a Black Velvet girl. Where did you find..." her voice trailed off as she saw something familiar in the photograph. She looked up at Macy in shock.

"She is Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais" said Macy. "It took twelve-year-old Marie Tremblay from maritime Quebec months to come up with a name that sounded exotic and sexy." She smiled, remembering how she selected Dagenais because she had such a crush on Pierre Dagenais who played hockey for the Montreal Canadiens.

"You were on top of the world!" said Veronica, her eyes wide in shock and excitement. "When I was starting out they would talk about you, how you started young and shot to the top and when you disappeared the Beaulieu agency began to fade until Romée Beaulieu disappeared also." She turned the page and there was another Black Velvet shoot. It echoed the first one nicely, except there was something in Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais's eyes. It looked like hate, anger that was seething under the surface. She had aged so much. "How old were you here?"

"Twenty two... I was in university and I had quit the life, but I occasionally modeled for Romée and only Romée." She shrugged, "I was a student, I needed money. Romée was living with me, she was ill and needed medicine so I did one more shoot." Then she pointed to an insecure looking blond. "I felt so much older than this minnow."

Veronica gasped, "I forgot about that shoot!" The minnow that Macy pointed out was a very young Veronica von Köster, Black Velvet girl. "We worked together at the beginning of my career," gasped Veronica.

"And the end of mine," said Macy. She flipped back to the previous shot and pointed to Corinne Favreau. "She did not like me. At a shoot in Luxemburg, I went to dinner with a man she wanted. When I did not give him what he wanted, he beat me. She found me afterwards, and she and a photographer named Otmar Dieter raped me." Macy looked sad as she looked at the photograph. "I thought she was a friend." Then with a sigh she said, "Imagine your wedding night, you go to the man you passionately love and have to tell him that the thought of sex was disgusting to you."

"What did John do?"

"What John always does. He was sweet and kind and patient. For years... he waited for me for years," and she began to cry. "I was so evil to that man, for over two years I harassed and humiliated him in front of my students, and when Romée Beaulieu died he was with her and I... I..." She caught herself and whispered softly, "I wished he was the one to die... I couldn't help myself! she was the only mother I ever knew."

"So why are you telling me all this?"

Macy sniffed and tapped the photo. "I know what goes on between the shoots. It's not an honorable life for many people." She tapped the second Black Velvet shoot, her finger pointing to a pale woman with black hair wearing what Veronica and Macy both considered too much mascara. "Dominique Guillaume. She is actually Joyce Smith from Tuffnell, Manitoba. I hope you had the sense to run when this shark went looking for little minnows. I know Joshua. He will forgive anything if you are honest with him."

Veronica stared at the picture. Her head began to pound, and she felt nauseous. Everything faded away as the memories came roaring back, memories she suppressed, denied, and refused to remember. "I didn't run," said Veronica in a voice too soft to hear.

"Pardon soeurette?" (little sis)

"I didn't run!" Veronica nearly shouted. Then she went limp and slumped down in her chair. "I heard the rumors, but I was Ronnie from Erie! A grade A certified tough chick! I could take on anything and she was some scrawny old hag from the Canadian tundra." Veronica laid her head down on the table and screamed, which caused Tigger to jump up on the table and look around for something to fight.

"Who did you talk to mon soeurette?"

Veronica crossed her arms on the table and rested her forehead on her arms. She scoffed and said, "Who could I talk to? I couldn't possibly have told dad, he was so proud of me, what would he say if he found out his oldest daughter was being passed around by the older models as a fuck toy?"

"He may have surprised you. Fathers have a special relationship with their oldest daughter. Single fathers even more so."

"You're lucky, you had someone to be your mother figure," groaned Veronica. "I never had anyone. Even when she was with us, she didn't care about Magda or me."

"That is true, but then again, I never had a father figure," said Macy. "The man I thought was my father was my uncle, and to him I was useless. He taught me to fish, but when I had my first period, he banned me from his boat, or any boat. I was eleven! I didn't know what was happening... I don't know what's happening now." She placed her hand on her tummy as the child inside of her began moving again. It's got to be a girl.

"Magda blamed me for mom leaving, and when she'd talk to me she made my life miserable. You and Andi are as close to sisters as I've ever had," said Veronica.

"I feel the same way," said Macy. "I've had friends, and many, many women in the church who shower me with love, but when Andi appeared I suddenly had a little sister, whether I wanted one or not. I've lived here for years but nobody seemed to care, then Andi dragged me into your church and suddenly I've found a community." Then she whimpered and said, "you're right, I'm going to have to tell Josh."

"You need to hurry mon cher, you must talk to Joshua. Joyce Smith married a US Army officer that retired to this area. I understand he works for the new mayor."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Josh finished cutting Amelia's small lawns, then trimmed the weeds around the base of Amelia's house and put the weed whacker in the back of his truck, then hoisted the lawn mower into the back as well. Then he gathered the trash bags and threw them in the back of the truck. This entire neighborhood was populated by shotgun houses, narrow rectangular buildings about twelve feet wide and thirty-six to forty-eight feet long. The single story dwellings had a peaked roof and a front porch. The houses were built on brick pillars, but a skirt was added to keep the snow from blowing under the floor. This entire neighborhood was originally built for the railroad workers, but the railroad left and Argentine Avenue became a low income neighborhood.

Josh went up to Amelia's door and knocked on it. The sign said, "NEVER RING THE BELL." It didn't matter if you rang the bell or not, the doorbell didn't work. After a long wait, Amelia opened the door. She was a dower, bent woman with an expression of pain on her face from the 5.56 mm bullet she took in her hip in Vietnam. Josh knows the pain exactly. He took a chunk of shrapnel in the hip and cancer eventually formed. Amelia looked Josh up and down and finally greeted him with her typical, "Well? What do you want?"

"I'm finished with the lawn, the raking and the trimming, I got the trash in the back of the truck," said Josh.

Amelia glared at Josh with a glare that would make a nun that taught elementary school proud, then snarled. "Well, pin a rose on you! Whadda ya want, medal of honor?"

"Already got one, thank you. A cold beer would be nice."

"Well, I ain't got none!" snapped Amelia. "I suppose you'll have to take me over to the VFW where I can get ya one."

"That'll be fine. Maybe we can find you a nice fellow."

"Kiss my ass," snarled Amelia. "I ain't got no time for no man. I'm not done with last week's crossword puzzle." Amelia does the New York Times crossword puzzle to completion every week. She used to do it in pen but lately they've been adding a lot of foreign words which angers her to no end.

Leaning heavily on her cane, Amelia slowly made her way to Josh's truck and Josh opened the door for her, then took a Pullman stool out of the back seat and placed it by the door so she could climb into the truck easier. He waited until she was seated before he closed the door, stowed the stool, then climbed into the driver's seat.

"So, have ya knocked up that little hotty yet?" demanded Amelia as they made their way across town. Anyone not aware of Amelia's past would have choked, but Amelia was a disabled veteran and she felt she could say any damn thing she wants, any damn time she wants to and she loved to taunt Josh.

"No, and not for tryin' either," said Josh.

"Bah, you're probably shootin' blanks. That's why you were in the Air Force!" Amelia cackled at her own joke.

Josh wheeled into the VFW parking lot and pulled into the spot marked "Reserved for Medal of Honor." There's only two benefits of that medal he really agreed with, and that was one of them. He hopped out, set the stool for Amelia, and helped her out, then escorted her into the VFW hall. Most of the folks were out back at the picnic. The dads were pitching horseshoes, and the kids were having a water balloon toss while the moms sat in the shade of the big picnic pavilion. A large hog was roasting over an open fire, a rotisserie turned the pig, cooking it evenly. The fire hissed and flared with every drip of fat that fell into the fire, and the smell was heavenly.

Inside the VFW hall, it was cool and dark. The only real light was the ever present neon Genesee Beer sign behind the bar and the Genesee Cream Ale sign over the juke box. A baseball game was on the TV, and Josh made a mental note to take Veronica to next Friday's game downtown. The Bisons were playing the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders and last time they were in town, it was a bloodbath.

Josh and Amelia sat at the bar and the bar tender poured them both an ice cold draft beer. Free beer at the VFW was the other benefit for Medal of Honor awardees that Josh saw any value in. "I see you got a tenant in the back room," said Josh to Amelia. There's a tiny apartment in the rear of Amelia's house that she occasionally rented out.

"Got an old city girl from Allentown who wanted to spend the fourth out here. You know, hippie shit; sniff cow shit and roll in the weeds. She spends the day in Zoar Valley painting, floppy hat, easel and everything."

"Nothing wrong with that. Hey, it's money. It keeps you in Folger's," said Josh. They tapped beer glasses and Amelia seemed content.

"Oh crap," groaned the bartender as someone entered. Neither Josh nor Amelia turned to look, but from the bartender's expression, whoever entered was not a pleasant person.

"Who parked in the spot reserved for a hero?" boomed a voice in the VFW hall.

"Me," said Josh without turning around.

"Move your truck," boomed the voice.

Josh still didn't turn around. "No." Then he beckoned the bar tender over. "Who's this guy?"

"Charles Lee. He used to be a colonel in the army. Really full of himself, he acts like he's the commander here. He works for that new moron, Windecker, and thinks he's still some colonel. Should I tell him?"

"Nah, I like seeing the look on their faces when they find out," said Josh and he took a long, refreshing drink from his beer.

"Let me hit him with a stick!" shouted Amelia. "Gimme the peacemaker!" The peacemaker was a baseball bat that hung on the wall behind the bar. It had over two dozen spikes protruding from it and hung as a warning against fights and loud arguments. It had the word PEACEMAKER etched into it. It was, of course, ornamental. The real peacemaker was a police baton which hung under the bar within easy reach of the bartender.

Amelia's shout brought people into the bar from the picnic. If Amelia was shouting, something entertaining was happening. What they saw was Charles Lee advancing on Josh and Amelia from behind. Charles was a big guy, tall and solidly built, putting on some girth. For his part, Josh was still a very slight guy at five foot nine. He had lost a lot of weight due to chemo and radiation and still looked sickly.

Josh turned to Amelia and said, "There was a General Charles Lee in the American revolution. He was an arrogant buffoon. He retreated at Monmouth when there was no threat to his unit. He was the first officer court martialed in the United States."

Lee stopped and roared, "Move your truck! I won't say it again!"

"Good. Then maybe we can enjoy our beer in quiet," said Josh without turning around.

Amelia held up two fingers, and the bartender poured two more Gennys. "Put it on his tab," she said. "I'm short this week."

"You're short every week, pipsqueak."

"Fuck you."

"Bite me."

Their banter was that of two tired old war horses that found refuge in each other's company. Josh was probably the only person in Springville that could tell Amelia Hernandez "Bite me" without getting her cane broken over his head. While they fuss and banter with each other, both know the rules of the game and exactly how far they can go before hurting the other one, and neither would dare cross that line.

"I SAID!" roared Lee, and he clamped a steak sized hand on Josh's shoulder. "MOVE YOUR TRUCK!"

Josh calmly set his beer down and coiled up his legs. Then, pushing off from the bar, he drove back against the mountainous man, shoving back as hard as he could. Lee ended up sprawled out on his back on a table, Josh's hand at his throat, and Lee was looking up into the eyes of a madman. For the first time in Charles Lee's life, he was afraid. "Leave Me Alone!" ordered Josh.

The dozen or so members of the VFW that came in to see what Lee was bellowing about all took out their phones and took pictures of Lee sprawled out under Josh's angry glare. Josh held him in position for a full minute, not speaking, just shaking. The hate and anger over his losses welled up and, for a moment, he seriously considered crushing the loudmouth's windpipe.

"Let him go Josh," said a calm voice. "He's an arrogant ass and he's not worth a damn thing compared to you."

Without a word, he let go and returned to the bar, picked up his stool, and sat down to sip his beer.

"You're shaking," said Amelia.

"It happens," said Josh, who was having trouble holding his beer steady. "I'm allergic to assholes."

When Lee tried to get up, the pedestal table he was sprawled out over fell over, dumping him on the ground. "If you're done playing, ya mind putting the table and chairs back?" said the bar tender, who was washing glassware.

Dale Lomis, the VFW post commander, helped Lee to his feet. "Nice. You just got your ass kicked by the only Medal of Honor recipient in Erie County. I probably saved your life when I asked Josh to let you go."

"Oh shit," groaned Lee. Part of his assignment was to convince Ephraim Gravely to pose for PR photos with the new mayor, Samael Windecker. Mister Windecker wanted to look like he's the big hero's best friend.

Lee drew himself up and walked up to Josh and extended his hand to shake. "I'm sorry," Lee started, but Amelia interrupted him.

"You sure as shit are. Sorriest sucker in here."

Lee tried to continue. "How can I make it up to you?"

Josh looked at him over his shoulder, then said, "You can't. You showed everyone your true colors. At your age you'll only get dumber from here." He finished his beer and said, "Let's go Amelia. It's clear I'm not welcome here."

"Let's go to Worzil's. They don't attack fucking war heroes there," said Amelia, and the two disabled veterans slowly limped out of the bar.

Dale Lomis looked at Charles Lee and said, "Smooth move, jackass."

"I tried to apologize!" whined Lee.

"Only after he kicked your ass and you found out who he was. You're a perfect match for that waste of skin boss of yours, Windecker."

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Josh had done a lot of yardwork at Veronica's home and Amelia's and when he got home after their stop at the VFW, he still had work to do. He hauled rocks from the pile of rocks next to the garage to the little stream in the backyard. A small creek separated their backyard in half and when Veronica had Gus Didomissio build her sunroom, she had him build an arched bridge over the stream. Now Gus was going to build an in-law suite in the basement for her dad, Mike, while Josh worked on the stream, turning it into a show piece.

Josh loved the little creek in the back yard. The stream moved quickly through Veronica's yard, so Josh was building little walls across the stream with the rocks, creating little pools of water and little waterfalls. It deepened the stream and slowed it down and hopefully made places of refuge for fish. He and Veronica were also lining the bank of the stream with rocks and making a rock garden on either side of the bridge that arched over the stream. The plan to create a series of pools and little waterfalls in the stream with rocks they collect from Zoar Valley gave the stream a babbling brook effect. Josh also noted with pride that there were minnows in the little pools.

He took a couple cans of Rust-Oleum white and spray painted the wrought iron lawn chairs, love seat, and coffee table. They made a beautiful set under the spreading weeping willow that shaded the lawn on the far side of the creek. The lawn on the house side of the creek was shaded by a huge sugar maple that Veronica said blazed in a rainbow of yellow, orange, and red leaves.

When his work was over, Josh was exhausted and fell asleep in the recliner and slept through dinner. Veronica woke him in time for bed. He pushed away the sandwich she made for him. Her face was a mask of concern, and she kissed his forehead as he got up. "You're overdoing it, aren't you?" asked Veronica.

"I'm sorry, I want your house to look nice. I promised Amelia to cut her yard whenever she asked." Josh got up and went through his medications. With his history of cancer, he had quite a few to take. As he took a handful of pills, Veronica leaned against the bathroom door frame and made a correction.

"It's OUR house. Why don't you ever say OUR house?"

"Because it's not our house, I have no legal claim to it. You've decorated and designed this house beautifully; I don't want to take credit for any of that."

"The lawn looks like a putting green, the gardens are glorious, and the window boxes are incredible, that's all you, and you're paying half the mortgage," insisted Veronica. "I hope you change your mind when we get married."

"That depends on one thing," asked Josh. "It's an important sticking point for me."

"What's that?" she asked as she led Josh to bed. She was clearly concerned.

"Do you prefer a live Christmas tree or artificial?"

She paused for a moment, then laughed. "You goof! I don't care, as long as my angel is on top of the tree."

"Angels are nice," murmured Josh as they snuggled. "You're my guardian angel..." he muttered as sleep overtook him.

Sunday was the first day apart that Josh and Veronica had experienced since their love blossomed back in January. He was sleeping soundly and Veronica didn't want to wake him because he rarely gets a full night's sleep. She gave him a gentle kiss and headed off to church without him. After church, Veronica spent the day with Andi, Macy, Lucy and Melissa Kraft, the church pianist, getting John and Macy's nursery ready for the baby. They stood in the room that was chosen to be the nursery. Right off the master bedroom, the women studied the room with trained eyes. "I don't want to paint it," said Macy with a frown. "I like it like this." The room was a warm beige that reminded Veronica of being in one of Josh's log cabins.

"Then leave it like this," said Andi. "It doesn't have to be a pink, blue, yellow or green, I like this color too. It will make anything you put up for the baby to look at stand out more."

"Look at?" Macy suddenly realize how much she didn't know about children.

"Yeah, you want to put things up for them to look at," said Melissa. "Things to stir the imagination. I put pictures of fantasy characters, Snow White and Cinderella." When she said that, Veronica gave Macy a gentle elbow.

"I put up big numbers and letters," said Andi. "I made the twin's nursery a classroom with colorful numbers and letters. We did our ABCs and 123s every day since birth."

"She did," said Lucy Kosis, who was there and helped raise the twins. She had been injured in a biking accident and Andi brought her into her house to recover.

"What colors will Katarina see?" asked Macy. She was sure it was a girl she was carrying, and she wanted to name her child after John's mother, who was so sweet to Macy for years.

"From birth to one month they see high contrast colors, especially black and white," said Lucy. "Then from one to three months they start to distinguish some shades of the primary colors. From three to five months, they can see the entire color spectrum and by the time they're nine months old, they have near adult visual abilities."

In the nursery was a beautiful maple changing table/dresser. "Did John make that?"

"Oui, it was an old dresser that was thrown away," said Macy. "He stripped the old paint off and refinished it. He then added legs, and built a matching topper from scraps that were laying around the shop." John was becoming quite the carpenter and cabinet maker. He's now experimenting with other forms of furniture.

"I wish Yi were here, she has a great eye for this kind of thing," said Macy as she flipped through a catalogue.

"She took the entire weekend off, she said she was going hiking with a friend," said Andi.

<><><><><>

By the time Josh woke up, church was half over, so he hopped in his Gladiator, grabbed a breakfast bagel and a cup of java from Sally Anne's and picked up a sack of ice from Denny's Sunoco then headed out to the cabin. He eased into the driveway there, coffee and bagel finished on the trip out, and went into the garage and started up the tractor. He had the mower deck attached in moments and drove over to the cabin. In the cabin he grabbed a couple of beers, a couple of Pepsi Colas, and about four bottles of water and put them in an ice filled cooler. He placed the cooler in the front-end loader bucket on the tractor, along with a battery powered weed whacker and a towel. Loaded up and ready, he began to cut the lawn.

He started between the cabins and future camping sites back in the trees. He also studied the open area past the pavilion. He was going to need the brush-hog for that, but he wondered why it was just brush and grass. There were no saplings growing like what happens to any field left unmown in Western New York. If you want a forest, just stop cutting your grass and wait a decade or so. This area had no saplings, just weeds with shallow roots, and here and there around the periphery, a chain-link fence poked through the weeds.

As he cut the grass, he would occasionally hop off the tractor, grab the weed whacker from the front-end loader bucket, and trim around the site number post or cabin and have a cold drink from the cooler in the bucket, then get back to work cutting the grass. He checked his phone and there was a message from Veronica. It was a red heart emoji. He replied with two red heart emojis, then got back on the tractor. It was hot under the trees when he finished trimming around the cabins and headed out to do the big lawn around the south and west side of the pond.

It was hot, so Josh stopped the tractor at the end of the dock and walked out to the pontoon boat. There, he stripped off his clothes and fell face first into the pond. The shock of the cool water was so delicious and refreshing. He took a breath and swam to the bottom where the water was even cooler, then slowly surfaced. If Veronica was there with him, they would have played naked in the pond, splashing and laughing like children, but she wasn't there. It's been over sixteen hours since their last words together and he was feeling lonely. Josh pulled himself up onto the dock and dried off, then dressed and got back on the tractor and returned to cutting the lawn.

This last portion was quick. There wasn't anything fancy to trim around, it was just straight cutting and that sixty inch wide mower deck ate up the lawn. It was hypnotic as he cut, dreaming of the night they clung to each other in the pool above the falls. He finished cutting the lawn, disconnected the mower deck, and hooked the 'hay wagon' to the rear hitch. As he finished that, Paul and John Jarecki stepped from behind the row of trees that shielded the cabin from prying eyes on the road. Paul was pulling a wagon with the twins. "Perfect timing, just as the work is done," said Josh.

"We missed you at church this morning," said Paul. "Veronica told us you over did it yesterday."

"Yeah, ah cut and trimmed our lawn, then went and cut and trimmed Amelia Hernandez's place, then ah hauled some rock for our rock garden and painted the cemetery furniture. Ah guess ah tuckered ma-self out some." Josh likes wrought iron lawn furniture, but he calls it cemetery furniture.

"I hear you started a fight at the VFW," said John as they sat down on the porch of the cabin.

"That's a puredee lie," insisted Josh as he handed cold drinks to his friends. "Ah didn't start no fight. But ah sure did end one."

"I hear it was Charles Lee," said Paul. "He's the mayor's right hand man."

"That's the hand you wipe your ass with," said Josh as he opened a beer. "Pardon ma French, parson," he said to John. What was it about beer that tasted so good after a hard day of work?

"We just stopped by to let you know that the fire rings are ready, they're in the tractor shed," said John. Josh had found some heavy duty 55-gallon drums and John sliced them into three rings each. They're going to be perfect for fire rings at the campsites.

"Ah think I'm going to give them a heavy coat of stove paint," said Josh. "Ah don't want them rusting away."

"Oh, the Heritage Brothers LLC paperwork will be ready on Wednesday. Can you swing by my office and sign?" asked Paul.

"Ah'm jest a figure head, ah ain't got no liability in this thing if that fart sniffin' Sammy Windecker screws everything up, right?"

"That's what LLC mean, Limited Liability Company. The LLC is a separate legal entity and you're protected from business debts and claims."

"Yeah, I'll be there, if just to tweak Windecker's nose."

As they watched the rippling pond slowly return to a mirror-like calm, Josh got a text on his phone. It was Veronica, still sharing heart emojis. They added one each go-round, and he replied with ten hearts, but then another text arrived. "Can you come pick us up?" Josh sent a text stating, "I'm on my way." Then he saw the twins were now sitting in the bucket of the front-end loader on the tractor. They were pretending they were pirates in the crow's nest of their sailing ship. "Ah have to go run and pick something up," said Josh. "Ah'll be back shortly." He hopped on the tractor and fired up the motor.

"Can we ride here?" shouted the twins in unison.

Josh tipped the bucket back so they wouldn't fall out forward and lowered it to near ground level and they were off. He slowly head back into the woods, pulling the cargo trailer with the twins chattering happily in the bucket. They crossed the small bridge and headed past Cabin #5 and back into the woods, following the path that the snowmobiles follow.

They putted through the forest, traveling deeper than the twins had ever been. Josh passed an opening in the woods where they had tried to grow some crops, but the creatures of the woods got to everything but the potatoes. He turned around there and headed back up to the private campsite that he and Veronica had made for themselves. A young couple who looked to Josh to be barely out of their teens were waiting. Their gear was packed up, and they were sitting on the picnic table, holding hands.

"YI!" shrieked the twins, overjoyed to see their governess. They hopped out of the bucket the moment they stopped and raced to hug their beautiful Asian/American governess. "What are you doing here with Kenny?" demanded Sandy with a pout.

"Kenny and I are friends, we like to do things together, you sillies."

Kenny and Josh loaded their camping equipment into the bucket of the front-end loader and the trailer and had plenty of room for Kenny and Yi to sit in the trailer with the twins. "So?" asked Josh quietly as they loaded the couple's camping equipment. "Were you able to camp together as friends?"

Kenny just smiled. "Not exactly friends." He didn't expand on that and neither did Yi. Josh realized from the start that Kenny Johnson was crazy about Yi and Yi dreamed about Kenny from the day they met, but she still had this odd need to play Hard To Get with him. This camping / fishing trip was perfect for them. With all the attention on the celebrations in Springville, they could come back into the woods and relax and explore their relationship. "Twenty five bucks a night," said Kenny.

Josh thought for a moment, then realized what Kenny was talking about. "Twenty five bucks a night for a hike-in camp site with no power?"

"Hey, there's an outhouse and you have pond access and fishing," insisted Yi. She had fished her entire life, almost solely salt water, but she was loving her exposure to freshwater fishing. "Add ten bucks to haul their gear up and back. That way, they can enjoy the walk without a ton of food and water on their back."

"I agree, make the sites off the loop thirty five bucks a night."

"Thirty five?" Josh was thinking ten bucks a night for the tent sites.

"They'll charge thirty bucks a night for a national forest campground," said Kenny. "You have so much more. I suggest you make your pond catch and release only, and you sell firewood and spring water."

"I'm not sayin' that you'll make a fortune, but that will be a nice side income," said Yi.

"Hey, boss. Next time you have one of those big shin-digs, let me know," said Kenny. "You don't need to do that whole thing yourself."

Josh nodded. "I have a company picnic coming up last weekend in August."

"I'll be there for you," said Kenny.

"Me too," said Yi. She had heard about his medical condition and his medal and was amazed and proud to know him. Yi knew what veterans went through, she was surrounded by veterans, she's the daughter of a veteran, the girlfriend of a veteran, and employee of a veteran. She saw the pained, humble Josh as a national treasure.

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Through the month of July into August, Josh and Veronica had a tough work schedule. After meetings and visiting sites where his people were working, Josh returned home to work on the garden or go out to the cabins and cut firewood. He caused Veronica to worry because he wasn't sleeping and he wasn't eating. Ever since the big fund raiser when he overworked himself so severely, he was constantly working.

He was working hard at Andalon, making sure that everything in the server room was perfect, that the network connections were rock solid, that the installation teams were beyond reproach. Working at their house, doing the laundry, cleaning, and yardwork, along with yardwork for Amelia. He even got Pastor John to try to talk to Amelia. Then there were the cabins. He was constantly there, cutting and splitting firewood, stacking it neatly in the lean-to he built next to the main cabin out of old singed logs from the vandalized cabins. Trimming the lawn, fixing the old dock, working on Grandpa. With his barbershop quartet, he was becoming the perfectionist of the four men, almost like he was driven to outshine all the other quartets in the area.

Veronica tried to get Josh to relax and enjoy the summer, but he seemed driven. It eventually became apparent to their co-workers. One day after a staff meeting, Anthony called Veronica into his office. "Is Josh ok?" Ant asked.

"I don't know, he won't talk about it. I'm starting to get worried," said Veronica.

"He looks pale and drawn out," said Anthony. "When does he go back to Roswell Park for a follow-up?"

"The twenty first," said Veronica, looking at her schedule on her phone.

"What did he have for breakfast?" asked Marjorie. "He looks like he's not eating."

"I don't remember him having breakfast..." 'or lunch...' she thought to herself. Dinners together had become rare. He was constantly doing something that kept him away from the dinner table, and when they sat down together, he always claimed that he wasn't hungry. "Excuse me." She strode over to the production side of the Andalon Data Systems building and looked around. Josh wasn't anywhere. She tracked down Rasheed, who was in the server room. "Where is Mister Gravely?"

"He's at a doctor's appointment."

"Thank you," said Veronica and she went into Josh's office and sat down at his PC, and logged in and tried the password T@ye&&rrr ("T eye double gh rrr" from Whinny the Pooh) and it worked. She checked his calendar and saw the words Helen Lennox for ten AM to noon. She called Jarecki Motors and asked for "Mrs. Jarecki" and after a few moments, the phone was answered.

"This is Marie-Claude, how may I help you?"

"Macy, Veronica. Are you familiar with a Doctor Helen Lennox? I thought I heard you mention her before."

"Yes, she's the psychologist I asked Josh to talk to."

"Oh thank god," said Veronica with a sigh. "He's been worrying me. She's on his calendar but he never mentioned his appointment with her to me."

"This is a big first step. Do not worry," said Macy. "If he gives her permission to speak to you about him she will call."

"She wants to speak to me?"

"Do not worry, Doctor Lennox has been handling cases for me for years. They're just general questions that clarify his background for her."

Veronica was overjoyed that Josh finally went to see someone for help, if he did indeed go, and she was glad that it was someone that Macy approved of. But why did he wait so long? Just then, her cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Doctor Helen Lennox. "Hello?"

"This is Doctor Helen Lennox, I'm calling to speak with Veronica von Köster, is this Veronica?"

"Yes, doctor, Macy told me to expect a call from you."

"Macy? Oh yes, Marie-Claude's nick name. We haven't spoke about that for a long time. I'm calling about Ephraim Gravely, can we speak? Is this a good time?"

Veronica got up and closed the door to Josh's office. "Yes, but let me inform you that he hates his first name, especially when it's mispronounced."

"How should it be pronounced?"

"Just how it's spelled, the accent is on the second syllable and the E is a short E, almost silent, eFRAME."

"Oh, that's very different."

"Stick to Josh. He prefers that. How can I help you Doctor."

"I'm just going to ask for some background information if I may..." Doctor Lennox asked about her relationship with Josh, how they met, how they played hard to get with each other for over a year until they were snowed in together. Then she asked, "What do you think of Craig Zigler?"

Veronica was taken aback, but she said, "He was Josh's best friend and member of his flight crew. Josh said he operated the 105mm howitzer gun. He was Josh's best man when he married Yesenia. They were as close as two guys could get."

"Yes... Yesenia..." Veronica could hear Dr. Lennox writing on a notepad. Then the doctor asked, "and what do you think of Craig?"

"He sounds like a wonderful guy."

"When is the last time you spoke with Craig?"

"Ma'am?"

"Was it recently? Was it before you were snowbound with Josh?"

"Ma'am, Craig has been dead for seven years," said Veronica.

Doctor Lennox paused and caught her breath. It was only her professional demeanor that kept her from crying out with, "Oh dear!"

"Is this why he's been working so hard since May?"

"What do you mean?" asked Doctor Lennox.

Veronica explained the sudden need to fix every broke thing, to maintain every item, to cut every blade of grass ever since they got cabin #8 ready for the orphans' campout. "It's like, when he found out how much money he raised for Adoption Advocates and Roswell Park, he wants to make everything perfect."

"How much did he raise?"

"Seventeen million. That's with a lot of corporate arm twisting by our boss and Paul Jarecki. Josh thinks it's because of his medal of honor, and to be honest, he's probably right. He hates the image that medal carries."

Doctor Lennox gasped. An honest-to-god hero just walked out of her office. She thought it was a massive inferiority complex from being loved by a beauty queen. Now she has to believe that he's suffering imposters syndrome. "How did he raise that much money?"

"He had a Chiavetta's lunch on his land for the kids and our boss and Paul Jarecki invited several businessmen from the area," said Veronica. "Josh did a lot of hand shaking and begging on behalf of the kids and Roswell Park. Could it be that he's terrified that he's not going to be able to raise that kind of money again? The previous year he was barely able to feed the kids a nice lunch."

"That's definitely something I have to think about... How did Craig die?"

Veronica was nervous because Josh never really told her. Emory gave some details, and Christy helped, but Emory won't talk very much about that mission either. "I don't know for sure, something happened on a mission, there were five in the back of the plane. His pilot told me that Josh saved three of them but not Craig. He got his medal for what he did for Ellie most of all. I don't understand the jargon on his citation. All I know for sure is that they had a bad landing and he got injured on landing. Should I worry about his cancer returning?"

"Cancer?"

"He's not eating, he's not sleeping, he's working himself to death, I'm worried about the cancer returning. He said it was a low grade osteosarcoma... I'm not sure exactly what that means other than it's bone cancer. He had it on his left hip."

Helen sighed and scribbled notes on her pad. Josh gave her permission to get his medical records from 'the clinic,' that probably means Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Marie-Claude Jarecki told her this would be a challenge, and Helen didn't realize how right Marie-Claude was. "Veronica listen. What Josh and I talk about is confidential but I can tell you this. He loves you and respects you, and will do anything you ask him to do. Tell him enough with the business and the house and everything else. Tell him you want him to concentrate on his health... proper diet, proper sleeping, relax, have fun. He's served his country and his company, now it's time for him to serve your relationship. Let him know that he's scaring you."

"Yes ma'am."

"Veronica, I don't talk to other people about a patient's treatment without permission, and when a man comes to me and says, 'my wife sent me' or 'my girlfriend thinks I need help,' it's generally serious. Our lovers are our best observers and men hate to go to doctors. They see it as a sign of weakness, especially someone like Josh. People like him feel a need to prove to everyone that he is deserving of the high honor and praise they are giving him. He gave me complete permission to speak to you. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Comfortable? No, but I understand and want to help as much as possible," said a shaken Veronica.

Fifteen minutes later, Veronica returned to her office and found Josh seated in a chair, waiting for her. She did something she rarely ever does in the office (during business hours) and eased into his lap. It seemed like forever since they had meaningful physical contact. The occasional snuggle when sleeping and the near automatic kisses throughout the day.

"Helen called me," said Veronica.

"And?"

"You didn't tell her about your medal, did you."

"Is that important?" asked Josh.

"Yeah, it's probably causing a lot of issues in here," Veronica said as she tapped Josh's forehead. "I love you, Ephie, and I hope that if you and I work together with Helen, we will make everything right."

"I guess she's got her work cut out for her," sighed Josh.

"WE have our work cut out for US. We're going to start with getting you to eat a proper meal. Hungry?" she asked.

"No... I don't know," groaned Josh.

"Split a sandwich with me?" she had an idea.

"Sure, I guess."

"Then come on," she said and got up and coaxed him to his feet. She leaned into Anthony's office and saw Marj and Sophia Makris, the head of HR, in there with him. "We're going to Wegman's to get lunch, you guys want anything?"

"I'm good," said Sophia. "Thanks for asking."

"Get my favorite for me and Marj," said Anthony. "Large cut into quarters."

"Gotcha, be right back. I'm taking your oldest son with me," she said as she led Josh out the door.

Wegmans is a western New York miracle. It started in 1916 as the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company by John and Walter Wegman selling vegetables from a pushcart on the streets of Rochester, NY. A year later, they had a store on Main Street in Rochester. Under the leadership of Danny Wegman, the company grew. The stores are incredible; every section has a different décor. The deli section in one store looks like an Italian market, the sea food area looks like a Maine dock. The food served at the deli is so good and so popular that Wegmans invented the in-store dining area. Many stores have the dining area on a second-floor balcony overlooking the grocery aisles. The stores have free cooking classes to help the home chef in meal preparation. The Food Network used to have a "grocery store of the year" award, but they gave it up because Wegmans kept winning. No other grocery store is close to Wegmans for service and selection.

It was getting later in the lunch hour when they arrived so the line wasn't very long. "Let's see... Anthony wants roast beef with provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, and green pepper on sesame roll with mayo and yellow mustard. Large cut into quarters. We want Danny's favorite with tomato, onion, and banana peppers, extra oil, cut in quarters."

For the first time in a long time, Josh was hungry. Danny's favorite was salami, capicola, and spicy ham with provolone cheese and shredded lettuce on a sesame seed roll. The addition of tomato, onion, and banana peppers made it spicy perfection, a sandwich to clear your sinuses and warm your heart. And it's huge. A quarter is big enough for one person's lunch.

Returning to Andalon, Josh carried the sandwiches into the lunchroom, and it felt like he was carrying a week's worth of groceries. Anthony did something very few other company heads do; he often joined the rank and file in the company lunchroom. He and Marj ate there along with the regular employees and they could talk about anything over lunch except work. There was an enormous neon sign on the wall that said in brilliant Red White and Blue letters: No Shop Talk.

Veronica got a couple of paper plates and napkins from the counter, while Josh got a Pepsi and a diet Pepsi and two cups of ice and they sat down to eat. They were joined by Anthony, Marj, and Sophia. Conversation was light, that is, until Terri showed up. She pulled up a chair and said, "It's almost fair time! Are you going to ride on any rides this year boss?"

"No," said Josh emphatically. He had taken an experimental bite from the quarter that Veronica gave him and the flavor of the spicy cold cuts exploded in his mouth. He had never tasted capicola before moving to Buffalo and it quickly became his favorite meat. Add spicy ham and salami, along with the 'salad fixings' on a freshly baked bun, and you have the perfect sandwich.

"Come on! It's fun!"

"I've had enough fun for a lifetime, thank you." He quickly finished a quarter of that sub and Veronica put another quarter of the sub on his plate, added some salt and vinegar potato chips and slid it in front of him.

That wasn't good enough for Terri. "Come on boss, you can't crash a Ferris Wheel."

Veronica froze. Would a callous remark like that set Josh off? But Terri didn't have a callous bone in her body. She may have been thoughtless and silly, but never callous. Josh looked at Terri and said, "I am going to the fair to look at two chickens."

"I hope they're Chiavetta's chickens," said Terri as she took one of Josh's salt and vinegar potato chips.

"No, they're Plymouth Rock breed chickens and their names are Pokey and Fluffy."

"What?!?" Terri howled with laughter and everyone at the table began laughing.

"My friend's daughters are entering their chickens in the fair," said Josh.

"Pokey and Fluffy?" Terri was still laughing.

"The girls are five. Give them a break," said Veronica.

"I want to see these chickens," said Anthony. "Any chicken that earned a name is worth viewing."

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The Erie County fair was easily the largest county fair in the United States. 4-H, FFA, baking and quilting contests are still a huge part of the fair but for most people, the midway is the big attraction. Folks still watch the horse exhibitions and contests all week long, Josh being one of them, and inspect every critter put up for livestock judging, which was Veronica's idea of fun. Then, of course, were the crafting competitions. It's generations separated from the county fair of old where the pie baking contest was the big draw, but it still had agriculture and country living at its core.

Ant and Marj and their seven kids met Josh and Veronica inside Gate 2, at the Cork & Brew On The Avenue, a beer garden that featured several awesome ciders. Somehow they met up with Terri and her date for the day, an emo looking fellow from Allentown, an artsy neighborhood in Buffalo, and she introduced him as a musician whose name was "Fender."

"What kind of guitar do you play, Fender?" asked Josh.

Fender looked like an anime version of a bum. He glared at Josh through sunken eyes half hidden by oily strands of hair. "Fender," said Fender.

Josh leaned in close and whispered, "Ah doubt you have earned enough in your lifetime to purchase a Fender. Did ya steal it?"

"No. It's a Glarry with a Fender sticker on it," said Terri brightly. The cheapest electric guitar that Josh had ever seen was a Ktaxon, and a Glarry is not much better. You can get one new with an amp and a case for eighty bucks. From the look of "Fender," his Glarry was probably used, and spent much of its life in the pawn shop. There is something nice about being a singer. You can't pawn your voice, then forget to pay it off and leave it in hock the night of the show.

"Oh, a Glarry," said Josh. "I take it you're in a grunge band?"

"Solo," grunted Fender.

"He plays grunge jazz," said Terri.

Josh rolled his eyes. Just the thought of grunge jazz was painful. "There is a carriage team competition at the horse arena at two PM, I really want to see that," said Josh, desperately changing the subject.

"We're going to go check out the art exhibits," said Veronica.

Marj poked Josh in the ribs and said, "You need to get this guy over to the food court."

"Poultry first!" called Billie, Anthony and Marj's oldest daughter.

"Yeah, let's go!" cried her adopted sister Linda, and the young teens led their family, along with Josh and Veronica, to the poultry barn. There, the smell of many birds assaulted their noses, and the clucks, squawks, honks, and quacks assaulted their ears. Veronica was delighted to see the vast variety of chickens on display, from tiny bantams weighing under a pound to the massive Jersey Giant at nearly 15 pounds and standing over two feet tall. There were exotic chickens of all colors and sizes, there were grouses and pheasants, turkeys and geese.

The judges were moving from cage to cage, making marks on their clip boards, but a small crowd of judges were gathered around a cage that contained two common Plymouth Rock hens. The attraction was the owners of the chickens. "This one's name is Pokey and this one's name is Fluffy," said the co-owner, Sandy Jarecki.

"Why did you name your chicken Fluffy?" asked one of the judges.

"Well..." Madeline put a tiny finger to her chin in thought. "We were going to name the cats, but poppa said that 'Barn cats don't get names!'" she tried to imitate her father, Paul Jarecki, but on a five-year-old girl a deep voice is adorable.

"We had all these names left over from the cats," continued Sandy. "So, we gave them to the chickens."

"That's how we named her Fluffy," they said in unison.

Marj leaned over to Josh and said, "If these two can get a ribbon for being precocious, they're going to take first place."

Josh chuckled as Veronica went up to the cage and put her hand on the cage and Pokey gave her hand a poke through the wire. "She remembers you!" cried Sandy.

"Friends of yours?" asked a judge.

"Their farm is across the street from us," said Veronica. "Pokey laid an egg in my lap this spring."

"Pokey and Fluffy are the very best chickens here!" Sandy informed the judges. Unfortunately, there's no pre-school division for poultry exhibition, so Pokey and Fluffy were entered as pets. It got the twins out of the house so Andi could get some rest, and Yi got some overtime pay.

"Is that your mother?" asked a judge.

"No, that's Miss Yi. She's like our teacher but she lives with us and she cooks for poppa."

That caused Josh to laugh out loud. Yi turned brilliant red and said, "I'm their governess. Their mother couldn't come because she's expecting and the smell..."

"Stinky chickens!" called Sandy.

"They make mommy puke!" added Madeline and the twins both started gagging and retching to make their point. That got the Friedman kids laughing. When Sandy noticed their friends, she said, "Wanna see a cool duck?" and the twins and all seven Friedman kids ran off.

Yi shrugged and told the judge, "It's like that," and she went after her charges. Later in the day, a sympathetic judge would hang two pink and gold honorable mention ribbons for "Best Pet Chickens" on Pokey and Fluffy's cage.

"I want one of these ducks!" cried Sandy as she showed the Friedman kids a pen full of the oddest ducks Josh or Veronica had ever seen. They were walking straight up and holding their heads up high. It was like someone had attached a duck's head to the top of a bowling pin and a pair of webbed feet to the bottom. The effect was an animated bowling pin that had a curious expression.

"Balb-ala ducks!" said Yi. "That's what they're called in Korea. My grandmother has them to eat the bugs in her garden."

"They're called Runner ducks," said the girl, who entered her ducks as part of the FFA.

"I want some!" said Sandy.

"We can go swimming with them!" added Madeline.

"Tell you what, if y'all do real good in school, I'll see if I can get you a couple of these funny ducks for graduation," said Josh.

"Cool!" cried the twins in unison. They were starting kindergarten in two weeks and were getting nervous about it.

"That's sweet of you," said Veronica as she kissed Josh's cheek.

"Aw, I doubt they'll remember in thirteen years," said Josh.

"Uh, honey, they graduate from Kindergarten in ten months."

"Ten months!" wailed Sandy.

"There won't be any more ducks!" cried Madeline.

Josh turned to the breeder and asked, "What's the chance I can get four fertilized eggs next spring?"

"April will probably be best," said the owner of Genesee Hatchery. "Give me a call in March," and he handed Josh his business card.

"They need to be cool ducks!" said Sandy and Madeline in unison.

"I'm sure their Uncle John will be happy to build an incubator," said Josh.

"We have one!" said Sandy.

"That's where baby chickens come from," informed Madeline.

"Everyone knows that," said Sandy.

"They work for ducks too," said Josh.

The twins looked at him like he was crazy. "Ducks too?"

"And turkeys, and pigeons, and geese, and ostriches. Even turtles. Any critter that lays an egg."

That was the funniest thing that the twins had ever heard, a turtle laying eggs! Rather than explaining the curious nature of turtle reproduction, Josh and Veronica continued to tour the livestock barns while Yi and the twins joined the Friedman family and headed over to the midway. As expected, Veronica fell in love with every horse that she could touch, and quite a few poked their noses out of their stall for Veronica to pet.

They toured the craft barns and the vendor barns, where everything from liquid hand soap to pots and pans was sold. The salesmen were aggressive and entertaining; it was like all the infomercials from 1980s late night TV were being performed live in the vendor barn. Josh bought some Sham-Wows while Veronica got a slap chop because the one she had for years finally broke. After that, it was time to feed Josh. They got a collection of fair food and looked for a place to eat.

They each got a Korean corn dog, then they got a plate of ribbon fries and a plate of onion pedals to share. Fearing that Josh wouldn't like anything they got, she also got him a Souvlaki-Shish-Kebob. A Korean corndog is a hotdog on a stick, dipped in sweet batter, coated in panko breadcrumbs, then deep fried and sprinkled with sugar. It tastes like a hotdog served on a sweet pancake and is utterly delicious. Ribbon fries were potatoes that were spiral sliced thin and fried, a fusion of French fries and potato chips. The Souvlaki-Shish-Kebob was pieces of Greek marinated pork with onion and peppers grilled on a charcoal brazier.

They found a table in a pavilion and Veronica sat while Josh ran for drinks. He came back with two huge souvenir cups, one filled with homemade root beer, the other filled with a Western New York favorite called Loganberry, a raspberry-flavored drink from Crystal Beach, Ontario.

Veronica knew they bought too much food, but Josh still hadn't been eating at all, let alone properly. She found that when he eats something that he likes, his appetite returns. Like the Danny's Favorite sub the other day, he ate three quarters of it along with a large helping of chips. Hopefully, he'll pick and nibble at the fair food and find something good and gain back some weight. He wasn't wild about the Korean corn dog; he found the ribbon fries to be so-so, but he loved the onion pedals and the shish kabob. As they ate, Terri joined them. "Where's Bumper?" asked Josh.

"Fender," moaned Terri.

"Whatever."

Terri helped herself to the ribbon fries. "He took off. He didn't see a meaning to the 'whole thing,'" she made air quotes around 'whole thing.' "It's too much for his artistic mind."

"Which ride did he get sick on?" asked Veronica.

"The Sky Flyer," groaned Terri. "He yakked on everybody." The Sky Flyer was an incredibly tame ride; it was just a swing that went around in circles. Admittedly, you're fifty feet in the air, but it's so tame, it's lame.

Josh shook his head. "The fair is a place where people can show off what they've been doing for the past year, to get ideas from others, to learn and grow. The meaning is community! The midway has nothing to do with the meaning of the fair other than it's a chance to have fun."

"Oh... he was looking for some deep evil meaning to it all. All he did was bitch and complain. What are these... onions?" She ate several onion pedals.

"Let me guess, he took off with somebody else?" asked Veronica.

"Yeah, some junkie looking blond with big tits," said Terri as she switched back to the ribbon fries.

"Terri, why don't you let me hook you up with a date," said Veronica.

"No... why should you hook me up with a date?" said Terri. "You can't even find a date for yourself. You have to get Josh to come with you to the fair just so you're not alone."

Josh and Veronica looked at each other, then back at Terri. "It's true," said Josh. "It's a service I provide, an escort service for lonely spinsters."

Terri ate the remains of Josh's Korean Corn Dog. "No, really. I understand. A woman your age should have someone to walk with, ya know..."

"In case I fall?" asked Veronica.

"Exactly!"

"What do you say ah call you a wheelchair, ma? We kin go have a look-see at the geriatric equipment," said Josh with a grin.

"I'm going to kill you both," said Veronica.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

The company party was like the orphan's campout except there was no money being raised, no arms being twisted, no headaches at all. The Friedman family had Cabin 7, and Jen and Dale Combs, with their two boys, Ethan and Chip, had cabin five on the north edge of the pond. The rest of the cabins were filled haphazardly with many of Josh's troops. Josh didn't ask for any money, but Ant insisted everyone kick in ten bucks a head per night for Josh's expenses, such as firewood and electricity.

The day of the party was on the last Friday of August, and there were coolers filled with iced down pop and water, a keg of beer was set up between the cabins, and Chiavetta's was providing the dinner. Many people were spending the night, so they brought sleeping bags and coolers of their own food for Saturday. Fishing poles and cups of worms were also brought, but as always, the pond was catch and release except for bluegill. You could eat all of those that you wanted. Josh had a plastic can for "Leftover worms." If anyone bought bait worms and had some left over at the end of the weekend, Josh asked that they be donated to the worm can. He intended to toss them in Paul and Andi's garden because they're good for the soil.

There was a short staff meeting held early at the party. Josh, Veronica, Anthony, and the three vice presidents climbed on the pontoon boat and Josh steered it for the middle of Lake Nicca and dropped anchor. "I can't say enough for your generosity," said Anthony. "Is there anything you'd like or like help with to improve your parcel of land?"

Josh shrugged. "Maybe firewood. That's all I can think of. Maybe when the folks is hiking and walkin' around, if they see a dead tree they could tag it with bright orange ribbon. I'll come along later and cut it myself."

"Would you have a complaint if we built a diving platform and put it in your pond for the older kids to swim out to?"

"Bring your own anchors and I'll put her out there for you."

"Ok, we'll have one for next season," said Anthony. "Miss von Köster, would you bring us up to speed on the IPO?"

Josh didn't pay attention to most of what Veronica was saying. It was long and boring, and a litany of names of financial experts and offices. Josh was in awe of Veronica's control of the process and she was able to double check the firm that was hired to perform the Initial Public Offering. It was believed that there would be a great influx of cash when the IPO occurred and the VPs were talking about new office furniture. Josh just shook his head and muttered, "fucking disgusting."

"Oh, we'll get you a new office chair too," said Brandon Mitchell.

"My people are working on folding chairs and lab stools I stole from a closed technical school," said Josh. "Y'all are tussling over frippery and gewgaws when you need to invest in web integration. You need at least twelve more high capacity storage servers..."

"You're always asking for servers," whined Brandon Mitchell.

Josh was shocked. The guy actually whined like a jilted prom queen. "Yes, that's what happens when your salesmen go and land more new clients and upsell services to existing clients. If you simply tell them to quit, we won't need any new servers."

"You act like these servers are the most important part of the company!" cried Brandon.

"If they're not, then tell me what is. Go on... I'm waiting."

"The people!" said Brandon, like he was revealing the mystery of the ages. "It's the people that are most important. Without them, Andalon is just a stack of hardware."

"And without the servers, what are the people going to do? Cut lawns? Do light housework? Should we store our customer's data in buckets? And if the people are so important, why do the salesmen and the company officers get profit sharing while the hard working techs and programmers who build and maintain the systems have a 401k with no employer matching? Why is their medical, and dental less comprehensive than the salesmen."

"The salesmen work on commission!" sputtered Brandon. "They need the security an employer's co-pay insures."

"Salesmen work on commission plus a base pay that's higher than most of my workers. I will not be surprised if my people walk when they find this out," snapped Josh. "Who's going to maintain the network then? Salesmen?"

"You're a technician and you seem to be doing just fine for yourself," said Brandon. He gestured to the woods behind Josh. "You purchased all of this on a technician's pay,"

Josh glared at Brandon. The silly moron did not know how close to a grave at the bottom of the pond he was. Josh calmed himself then said, "We were discussing company policy, yet you chose to bring up my personal property for some odd reason. If you must know, I purchased this with decades of saving half of each paycheck starting when I was eight years old working on the shrimp boats. My dream was to purchase a farm so I didn't have to live in a snake filled swamp. Only recently have I discovered what it's like to have loose change in my pocket. I scrimped and saved my money and chose not to gamble my paychecks away." Josh gave Brandon a smug grin. He had discovered Brandon's "hobby" of jetting to Atlantic City or Las Vegas to play poker and craps as often as possible. Brandon was a gambler, and he was breaking even. It wouldn't be long before 'even' no longer existed. In the end, the house always wins.

"Enough," said Anthony. "Josh is correct. We need to remain competitive when it comes to hiring and retaining employees. Miss von Köster, could you get with our 401k manager and see what you can work out? I want to make an announcement at the Christmas party."

"Yes sir."

"Stan, you wanted to bring up something about the executive team?"

"Yes Ant. We need another VP to concentrate on the physical portion of Andalon. The 'plant' so to say, the server room, the network, the programmers, the physical facilities including the building and storage barn." They discussed adding a fourth vice president in charge of production. They'd be overlord of the programmers and Josh's group. "Would you accept that position Josh?" asked Stan Dombrowski, VP of Financial and Accounting.

"Nah, ah ain't no highfalutin vice president type. Ah like where ah'm at and ah think ah do a fair job of it. My degree is in network design and maintenance; that's nothing an investor wants to see as a vice president. They're looking for ivy league MBAs not community college wrench turners."

"Good answer," said Stan, and the discussion continued, but Josh was watching the kids swimming. The roped in swimming area for the small fry was a foaming, spattering mass of children splashing and having a good time. Josh counted sixteen kids in the roped area, and a few outside of the area. He looked to see if the ones outside the area were 'certified' by Josh to swim in the deep water. They were the Friedman girls, Linda and Billie, but there was another one who would occasionally dive off the dock. She didn't hang out with Linda and Billie, instead she'd return to the swim area to play with the little kids. She was a busty teen with a perfect hour-glass figure in a small bikini. When she walked, her breasts bobbled and threatened to spill out of her bikini top, and her hips shifted from side to side in a very enticing manner. She didn't walk like that naturally; did she make it up? Was she taught to walk like that?

Then he saw something that quickly upset him. He turned to Veronica and said, "there's something on shore I have to take care of, I'll be back." He kicked off his deck shoes and walked to the fishing deck of the boat and dove overboard.

"Is he swimming underwater the whole way?" asked Emmitt Katzman, VP of legal.

"Yeah, he does that when he's mad," said Veronica. Then she saw why he was mad. "I don't think he'll be back soon, let's finish up." And she sat down nervously.

Josh came up for air next to the dock and climbed up the ladder on the dock and stormed off the dock, straight across the lawn to where the Mayor of Springville was standing. It looked like he was watching the kids play, but he didn't fool Josh; he was watching that curvy chick that was almost falling out of her bikini top. Josh didn't even slow. He got to Samael Windecker, grabbed his upper arm in a death grip and nearly yanked him off his feet, dragging him back through the row of pine trees that separate his land from prying eyes on Trevett road. "You are not welcome here."

"I just come to say..." the mayor was sputtering because Josh made sure he was being hit with tree branches as he dragged the mayor away from the gathering. He pulled the smarmy little bastard out to the edge of the road.

"This is private property, you are not welcome." Josh pointed to a sign that John Jarecki made, a rustic plank with the words "Private Property, No Trespassing" etched in with a router. "You will not speak to my guests; you will not speak to me. Now go away before an accident happens."

"I am the mayor of Springville!" started Samael Windecker, trying to assert some authority.

Josh pointed to the east and said, "The village limits is ten mile that-a way. This is the Town of Concord. Right here your office means jack-sh..."

"Hey, listen a second, I have a proposition for you," said Windecker.

"I already have a job."

"No, listen. All you have to do is publicly endorse me for mayor in the special election in January. I can make sure you will get special treatment by the village."

"Let me see if I get the idea," said Josh. "You want me to strut around like a peacock with my little medal and show it off and let them think I'm a hero and I just have to say that you're a great guy."

"Exactly!" said Samael Windecker.

"There's a problem, I'm not a politician. I don't know how to lie to hundreds of people like a craven bastard," said Josh, still maintaining a death grip on Windecker's arm. Without warning, he loosened his grip and Josh cranked up his south Georgia accent to ten. "If you can prove to me that you're a great guy, ah will do what-cho want. That should be easy, rat?"

"Right," said Samael. He thought that he had this country bumpkin rube by the short hairs.

"Ah made me a donation to Adoption Advocates and turned rat around and made another to Roswell Park back in June. Match it and show me the receipts and I'll even put on my dress blues and I'll sing your praises in every church in town. Hallelujah! Deal?"

"Deal!" said Samael.

"Rat! Now ah want you to be special careful leaving," said Josh. "This land is wooded for three hundred acres all around. If you go an' fall an' git hurt, they may never find you in time. Understand what ah'm sayin' Mister Mayor?"

Then a voice came from behind Samael. "He's right, you need to be careful," Samael turned around and saw Paul Jarecki and his brother John standing behind him. John continued, "that sounds like a straightforward deal."

"Tell you what," said Paul. "Let me get in on this. I'll match every dollar you donate and we'll all be heroes. Charity like that will put you on the path to state office!"

"I have an endowment," said John. "I'll match you too, it's all God's work, right?"

Summoning his bluster, Samael said, "I'll hold you to it, mister car salesman. Preacher man!" he stomped off and got in his car and left.

"What was that all about?" asked John.

"Ah don't rahtly know. Y'all yankees are ah might bit confusin' to us country boys. Coming to join us for lunch?"

"I wouldn't miss it," said Paul. "You know that you're not making our new mayor very happy."

"Here's his chance to donate some money to Roswell Park and redeem himself."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

The regional Barbershop Harmony championship was held in Amherst at the University of Buffalo campus. The music department was perfectly suited for the immense crowds that this occasion draws and the large number of men that will parade on stage. There were several choruses and dozens of quartets to perform, and each man had a personal cheering session. The preliminary round was all day Wednesday and Thursday, semi-finals was Friday, and once they pare it down to ten quartets, the championship round was held downtown at Kleinhans Music Hall on Saturday.

Veronica von Köster has never been part of such a crowd before, but Christy had warned her about 'barbershop wives.' They're smart and enthusiastic and they'll brook no nonsense. If you show respect for all men on stage, they'll be your best friend for life. Veronica was lost in a swirling maze of sound and motion her first time backstage as the men prepared for their time to sing. Men walking back and forth from room to room and everyone was singing something. She had been to a few performances of Josh's quartet and was made the official 'makeup girl' because of her experience in hundreds of pageants and photo shoots.

The Gentlemen's Disagreement was Johnny McGreevy, Dick Daniels, Josh Gravely and Sam Lux. They were a comedy quartet and were very entertaining, but judges have historically been tough on comedy quartets, so they had little hope of advancing.

Their first round judging was on Thursday. Veronica and Josh took the day off for this, and Veronica was incredibly excited. The thrill she felt before each photoshoot, fashion show, or pageant she had ever done was back. Her hands were shaking as she did the guys' makeup. "Honey, relax!" ordered Maureen McGreevy, Johnny's wife and the matron of the Gentlemen's Women, as the wives called themselves. Maureen was born in Ireland and still had her Irish brogue. She was a devout catholic with seven children and nine grandchildren with two more on the way. The girls (and the guys) called her mother superior. "We don't want our boys going out on stage nervous."

"I have a cure for that," said Dick Daniels' wife Jacquie, who was often called Jack Daniels. She was a funny round woman that was always making alcohol references and jokes because of her name, but in reality she only drank wine, and that was rare.

"Let's go girls," said Dottie Lux, Sam's wife. She was the seamstress and did all the costumes and uniforms. After making sure that the guy's tuxedos were perfect, the women kissed their favorite singers for luck and trooped out into the audience. They settled in, and Veronica sat between Dottie and Maureen. "Have you ever been to a contest?" asked Dottie.

"No, this is my first time," said Veronica.

"Well then, here's the rules," said Maureen. "You clap for everyone, you boo nobody, and you save your applause until after the last chord is over. You want the judges to hear every note."

"Yes mum," said Veronica in a small voice. Maureen spoke with such matronly authority, the voice only a mother of seven could muster, that Veronica was terrified to clap at all. She needs to introduce Maureen to Marj so they can exchange 'war stories.'

The wait was over when the boys came on. Their set for the first round was an ode to James Bond. They came on stage one by one in their matching tuxedos, Johnny first, primping and tugging at his sleeves and bow tie. Then came Dick Daniels with a woman in a stunning gown on his arm. He gave her a kiss, and she walked straight off the stage. The woman was his oldest daughter, but few knew that. Josh came out looking around the audience for a target, his right hand under his left lapel. He pulled out a bright orange squirt gun and did the "James Bond Shooting" pose, then tucked it away. Meanwhile, Sam came out with a headset that was plugged into his watch and he was pretending to send morse code. He took off the headset, folded it up, and the guys lined up to sing.

Their first song was a filk of the old folk song "Where Have all the Flowers Gone," their version was "Where Have all the Great Spies Gone?" They sang about Derek Flint, Matt Helm, James Bond, Napoleon Solo, Maxwell Smart. Their second song was a Beatles song, which they sang as "Tell me Why you Spy."

They were happy after the performance and Josh was sure they did so well that they got one of their best scores. "What's a good score?" asked Veronica as she wiped off his makeup.

"For us? Anything above zero," said Dick Daniels as Jacquie cleaned off his makeup.

"Comedy quartets traditionally score very low, the judges seem to be harsh on our style," said Josh.

"We tend to get low marks for arrangement and singing, but high marks in Performance," added Sam.

"Hey, we got these tuxes for the rest of the weekend, let's go out to dinner," said Johnny. Many quartets spend a lot of time and money designing and making their costumes. The Gentlemen's Disagreement goes to Sams on Harlem Road and rents them. They ended up at the Glen Park Tavern in Williamsville, a nice place serving tavern style sandwiches and appetizers. Tuxedos were definitely overdressed, but they were happy. They gave it their all and they probably wouldn't look at the scores and judge's remarks for another week or so.

As their food arrived, Dick Daniels' cell phone rang. "Hello? Really? Yeah, they're right here... I'll tell them... hey, we're adults, they can handle it... ok, talk to you later." He put his phone away and took a bite out of his Ruben.

"Well, what was it?" said Sam Lux. "How bad was it?"

Dick chewed his sandwich, his handle-bar mustache bobbing as he chewed. He finally finished and swallowed and said, "We've advanced to the semi-finals."

The girls screamed in excitement. This has never happened before! The Gentlemen's Disagreement has been competing for six years and they never made the second round. "What are you going to do?" asked Veronica.

"I don't know," said Dick, the de facto leader of the quartet. "We gave them all our good stuff tonight."

"Look, they're going to hose us anyhow. Let's go out and have some fun," said Johnny McGreevy. "Let's do our Southern Man set."

<><><><><>

The costume for the second night was easy. They wore their tuxedos, except Josh. He wore a white dress shirt with no sleeves, bow tie, straw hat and an old pair of coveralls instead of a tuxedo jacket and trousers. A pair of high-tops completed the ensemble. When he spoke on stage, he let his southern accent fly. His normal accent was just a southern lilt, a sound so sexy that Veronica needed little foreplay if he was reading her some poetry. When he was angry it came on strong, but when he was imitating his cousin Buddy Wilkinson, he could barely be understood.

Josh came out on stage in his awe shucking best, his accent made his words barely understandable, and Dick Daniels translated from Southern to Yankee for the audience's benefit. "We're going to do a couple of songs our baritone, Cletus, brought up from Georgia," started Dick. "Cletus has had quite an impact..."

"Aww... Y'all don't have to be formal," said Josh, interrupting Dick. "Y'all can call me what my neighbors in Allentown call me."

"That is?"

Josh smiled proudly. "Hick."

Sam and Johnny visibly sagged while Dick soldiered on. "We've never sang these songs in contest before," continued Dick, ignoring Josh. "The singing judge has reviewed and approved our arrangements, and he looks fully recovered, let's do it... Hick."

Josh pulled something out of his bib center pocket and held it to his lips. Instead of a circular pitch pipe, he had a harmonica and started playing Camptown Races. Dick grabbed Josh's straw hat and swatted him with it, and they did a pantomime of an argument over his harmonica until he blew a single note. Then they broke into a song originally wrote by Waylon Jennings.

Put another log on the fire.

Cook me up some bacon and some beans.

And go out to the car and change the tire.

Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans.

Come on, baby, you can fill my pipe,

And then go fetch my slippers.

And boil me up another pot of tea.

Then put another log on the fire, babe,

And come and tell me why you're leaving me.

The audience was rolling with laughter when they were finished. This was the balm that could cure all of Josh's ills. It was better than applause, as far as he was concerned. The arrangement was pure barbershop, and it looked like the judges enjoyed it as much as the audience did. The next song was risky. It was from a group called The Notorious Cherry Bombs, and Vince Gill was a leader of that group. The song, "It's Hard to Kiss" was about the lamentations of a man whose wife became a nag. There was a rough word or two in the song, so they were expecting their contest to end in a few moments.

She used to call me baby

I thought she was such a lady

my, how things have changed

Since times moved on.

I gave her my last dollar

And now all she'll do is holler

Oh, my life has become

A country song.

It's hard to kiss the lips at night,

that chew your ass out all day long....

Breaking tradition and courtesy, the audience roared with laughter. Some were laughing so hard that Josh almost joined them. Backstage in their ready room, they were laughing and high fiving each other, fully expecting to be pitched from the contest for the words 'Chew your ass.' "That should do it, now maybe they'll leave us alone," said Sam.

"What?" said Veronica. "Don't you want to win?"

"Oh hell no!" said Sam emphatically. "We did the last song just to let them eliminate us."

"What? Why?" Veronica couldn't imagine not wanting to win.

"If we had won we would have to represent the Seneca Land District at the international convention in Seattle," said Dick.

"We're not professionals, we don't have the time to properly prepare," said Johnny. "Then there's hotels, meals, entry fees... Dick, Sam, and I are retired, we can't afford that."

Josh took Veronica by the shoulders and, looking in her eyes he said, "Honey, we're not in this for the contests and the travel. We do it because we love to sing and we love to make people laugh. Besides, almost everything we do is for a Buffalo audience, it would never work out of town."

"Ok, we have to be back at ten o'clock to congratulate the top ten," said Dick.

They retired to the Blue Fire Grill for a drink or two to calm the nerves. None of them had ever been in the "second show" and it was exciting to have reached the pinnacle of their singing careers. Josh and Veronica snuggled and fed each other fried mushrooms with blue cheese and a dash of Frank's hot sauce, thereby creating the Buffalo Style Mushroom.

"What happens now?" asked Veronica.

"We go back, you sit in the audience and we wait in the ready room with everyone else. They tell us the results and we shake their hands and they go out on stage and sing with the big chorus. The rest of us go home and get some sleep. Those poor suckers have to sing at Kleinhans Music Hall tomorrow night for final judging," said Josh. He was tired. He was done for the night and for the weekend. He couldn't wait to go to Cattaraugus Creek and do some fishing all day Saturday and Sunday. He may even bait the hook.

The Gentlemen's Women headed back to the auditorium and the Amherst Friends of Harmony, the champion chorus, had just finished a set to keep the audience entertained while the judges tallied the scores and filed the score sheets with the Barbershop Harmony Society. Finally, they called out the ten quartets that would advance to finals. In a clear baritone voice, the announcer began. "In no particular order, our first quartet to advance to finals, from the Rochester chapter, The Harmony Boys!"

Each quartet got called out and took a bow, then lined up in front of the huge Friends of Harmony chorus. The Harmony Boys were a comedy quartet, but they were primarily a 'singing' quartet, and their music was incredible. "Sam loves them," Dotty whispered to Veronica as they applauded.

"The next quartet moving forward, from the Amherst Chapter, the Mellowtones!" the crowd went wild. They were young kids that had a great sound and Josh said they were going to go far. "They're such babies!" said Mother Superior, as the guys came out on stage. The oldest one couldn't be more than twenty-two.

The announcer introduced a few more quartets and the Gentlemen's women couldn't wait to get it over so they could get out of there. Most of the quartets that performed bored Veronica to death with weepy songs with complex harmonies they chose just to show off their pipes. "Our next quartet, from the Buffalo chapter, Gentlemen's Disagreement!"

Veronica shrieked at the top of her lungs. They did it! They made the big show! They're going to finals tomorrow night! The audience went wild. Comedy quartets were coming back in a big way and the judges were becoming more sympathetic to the likes of the audience. The boys came out on stage, Josh wearing his tuxedo along with the straw hat, looking trim and happy while the audience went wild.

That night at home, they made love energetically. Veronica was 100% woman as they made sweet love, and she was a tiger as they fucked like teenagers. They fucked, they sucked, they kissed and clawed. It was like their first time when the barriers dropped and they could finally let their emotions flow. Finally, as they lay panting in the dark, Veronica said, "You need to win more often."

<><><><><>

The boys got together for an early day of practice. The girls joined Veronica at her home and were startled by her beautiful home. "This is gorgeous, and your pool room is so lavish!" gushed Jacqui.

"I can't take credit for that, the pool table came with the house. The only thing I added was the red velvet curtains to match the felt on the table and the painting," said Veronica. The painting she referred to was a huge print of a group of dogs smoking cigars and shooting pool.

"I know these guys," said Dottie. "Even though they say they don't want to win, they're going to practice until they get everything right. We should plan on having dinner with them where they're practicing and heading right into Buffalo after they eat."

"That won't be a problem, they're practicing over at Worzils," said Veronica.

Over at Worzils, the guys were in the back room practicing. They did some warmups and were arguing over what to do next. They were sure that they wouldn't win, but they wanted to make a good show of it. "Ok, we're going to do the Buffalo set, but what do we do?"

"You guys are so dense," said Julissa Tanaka. "Open with something sweet and complex with a few key changes then close with a bang."

"Do you know anything about Barbershop honey?" spouted Sam. He's usually a nice guy and funnier than most, but he was scared and frustrated.

"Sam!" Josh almost shouted. "She's the musical director for the South Towns Sweet Ads chorus. You want to listen to Julissa." The Sweet Ads or Sweet Adelines was the female branch of the Barbershop Harmony genre, and Julissa was tops in her field. She sang all throughout her USAF career and used her GI bill to take courses in arranging barbershop harmony. When she was suspended from the Town of Concord PD, music was the only thing that helped her keep her sanity.

She ignored Sam's outburst; she knew the jitters that form before a show, especially before your first shot at the finals. "Guys, just remember, anything higher than eleventh place is a win so it's all gravy and biscuits from here on out, right Redneck?"

"Yes ma'am!" said Josh.

"Ok, let's not do Genny River, that's been beaten to death, how about something sweet?"

"We got another Willy Nelson song; we've never done it in concert before.

"Let's see..." she looked at the arrangement that was going to be handed to the judges. "This will pass, let's take it from the top. Five, six, seven, eight!"

"What's going on in the back?" asked Kenny as he and Yi stepped into Worzil's for lunch.

"Julie is beating a quartet into shape," said Ayato. They listened to the singing for a moment, then Ayato winced and said, "I'll be right back," and he stepped back to the back room and told Julissa about the flat note he heard.

The girls showed up an hour later and listened as Julissa worked with the guys, then they broke for dinner. They had beef on weck with a side of fries, and as they ate Ayato handed them a small glass bottle and some plastic shot glasses. "This will clear the throat and loosen the vocal chords," he promised. With dinner finished, they headed into town, to Kleinhans Music Hall.

Kleinhans was world renown for the acoustics in the main auditorium. If you're singing on stage at Kleinhans, you may not hear the person singing next to you, but 40 rows back, they will hear you both loud and clear. Acoustics that perfect will throw off the unsuspecting, so they got there early and did a few "tags" (ending cords of a barbershop song) on stage to get used to the acoustics.

Then came the main event. They drew lots to go on and Dick Daniels pulled an eight. "Hopefully the judges ears will be tired by then," said Josh. The girls were in the auditorium as the show started and they listened to four quartets before they headed downstairs to help the boys prepare. Veronica was excited. She's never seen the Buffalo set before and when they got to the guy's ready room, they were already dressed.

They wore Buffalo Bills jerseys, sweatpants, knit caps, scarves, and mittens on strings around their necks. They also carried pendants on sticks to wave when they did a key change to make sure the judges didn't miss it. They had planned to sing Buffalo Girls, a quirky song about dating a girl from Buffalo, dining on beef on weck and drinking Genesee Cream Ale downwind from Lake Erie. Julissa nixed that. "Too simplistic, do that Willie Nelson song." So they practiced "Always On My Mind" over and over until it was perfect. Luckily Josh had the prop at his house, so they were ready.

The magic elixir that Ayato gave them was a simple formula of honey and whiskey. They warmed it up in the microwave and it worked magic on throats that were sore from practicing all day. As Veronica worked on Josh's makeup, the guys downed a shot of 'Irish cough medicine.' "Ok. Keep in mind, top two go to International Competition," said Dick. "What's our target?"

"FOUR!" shouted the guys.

"You're such jerks," said a laughing Veronica as she closed up her "magic tool kit." The women hustled back to their seats just as the announcer began his introduction.

"Our next quartet hails from West Seneca, Orchard Park, North Boston and Springville, New York. They have their most fun poking fun at the area they love. From the Buffalo Chapter, the Gentlemen's Disagreement!"

Just their appearance in their Buffalo Bills garb caused laughter in the audience. Josh even had his face painted for a football game. One side was red, the other blue, and the colors were separated by a white stripe down the middle of his face. He was walking a little stiffly because he had a rolled up poster strapped to his leg. Each of them had an (empty) can of Genesee beer in their hand. They weren't their chipper selves. They all looked sad... mournful. Without a pitch pipe, they began singing a beautiful, mournful rendition of Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind, but they changed the lyrics slightly.

Maybe I didn't want you,

Quite as much as I should have...

Maybe I didn't treat you,

Quite as good as I could have...

If it made us feel, oh, second best (it did, it did),

Oh, I'm sorry I was blind...

It was clear they were not singing to or about a girl, but about an object that was just out of reach. Their harmony was perfect, and when they hit a key change, they waved their pendants sadly, making the judges shake their heads and laugh. But as they neared the end of the song, growing sadder and sadder, Josh pulled the rolled poster from the straps sewn on his sweatpants leg and handed it to Sam on the end of the line.

You were always on my mind...

The guys sadly unfurled the poster as if mourning the dead. It was an enormous picture of the Vince Lombardi trophy and the Stanley Cup trophy. The most desired objectives on the minds of every Buffalo sports fan.

You were always on my miiiiiind.

The audience saw the pictures of the NFL and NHL championship trophies and went wild. Those two trophies were always just out of reach of the teams from western New York, but the people of Buffalo still loved their teams. When the applause died down and the poster rolled back up, Dick took a step forward and said, "Our resident Redneck was feeling lonely so we put together a song to make him feel at home."

Almost heaven, western New York

Snowbelt blizzard, Allegheny River.

Life is sweet there, Sabers, Bisons, Bills

Beef on weck with Genny,

Friday fish fry thrills

Country roads, take me home,

to the place I belong!

Western New York, snowstorm drama

Take me home, country road!

The crowd loved it; Veronica heard people singing along with them! Chuckles rolled through the audience when they sang "Danny moves my fanny on KB to start my day" The guys finished up with a final tag that repeated Take me home, country road! several times, each time the harmony grew more beautiful and more complex. The final chord rang through the music hall, and the music hall was dead silent for a second... two seconds... Veronica could see panic in Josh's eyes. Then the crowd leapt to their feet with a roaring standing ovation. Shouts of "Encore!" rang through the music hall.

The guys did their practiced bow, then a right face and marched off stage, but the crowd began a rhythmic clap and they would not stop. "They want you back out there guys," said the stage manager.

The guys looked at each other. They've never had a call back for a second bow, and it's just not done in a contest, but they marched back out on stage, took a second bow to the wild adulation of the crowd, then marched off sharply, waving to the crowd. It took forever to settle the audience down. Was it the quality of their singing? Or was it simply the fact they played to the audience's love of their home? Either way, Dottie, Jacqui, and Maureen, who have been to countless shows and contests, had never seen anything like that before.

Downstairs in the ready rooms, it was a party atmosphere. Each quartet that sang had gotten over their nerves and were unwinding. Veronica tried to go downstairs, but the quartets were sequestered after they sang, mostly to let the guys unwind and get ready for the reveal. She could only wait.

The last quartet had sung, and Veronica was torn in two directions. The other quartets were so incredible they probably trounced Josh and his friends. But judging from the audience's reaction, she was sure they have to go to Seattle to compete. The tension mounted in the auditorium as last year's first and fifth place quartets performed two songs each as the judges reviewed their notes and score sheets, then went backstage to inform the competitors.

Finally, it was time. The announcer started with #10 and announced the quartet that came in tenth. Veronica was so relieved that it wasn't the Gentlemen's Disagreement. Quartet by quartet the competitors stepped out on stage, receiving handshakes from the judges as they stepped out. Closer and closer they got to the top, and they still didn't call their name. Veronica realized that all four women were holding hands and gripping tight as the announcer came up to the microphone. "And now, in fourth place, from the Amherst Chapter, the North Park Four!"

Veronica squeaked. They were higher than fourth? The announcer was taking longer and longer between announcements. Nerves were frayed, tension mounted with each second of the announcer's delay. Finally. "In third place, from the Buffalo Chapter, the Gentlemen's Disagreement!" The guys came out on stage. They had scrubbed off their "war paint" and put on their tuxedos (they don't have to return them until Monday) but Josh was wearing his University of Georgia hat. As the judges shook their hands, one of the judges saluted Josh and held the salute until Josh returned it. Veronica clapped until her hands ached as she and her sisters in song hugged each other.

<><><><><>

They met for coffee at a small diner that was modeled on the Your Host Family Restaurant chain that used to span Western New York and was loved decades ago. They sat in silence, reliving the excitement and glory in their minds. Nobody broke the joyful silence until Dick said, "Ya think?"

"Think so," said Sam.

"Me too," said Johnny.

"Ah'm with ya," said Josh.

"God, it's been fun," said Dick.

"Ah will never forget. It's been an honor fellas," said Josh.

"Wait, what's going on?" asked Veronica.

"That's it, we're done," said Josh. "This was our last hurrah."

"You're not singing anymore?" asked a startled Veronica.

"No, we're going to sing, but not competitive. These past couple of years have been too much," said Sam. "We'll do chapter shows and Christmas shows and Josh's multi jillion dollar fund raiser, but that's it."

"Aww. I was just getting used to it," said Veronica. She fought to hold back the tears. This sisterhood, this crazy sisterhood of the wives of singing men, was it over? Something big had happened in her life. The Gentlemen's Women was a social blossoming for Veronica. Before this, everyone she knew was a co-worker, a client, or a competitor. This was her first genuine opportunity to be with people just because it was fun to be with them, and now it's over? She looked to Josh for guidance, but he was tearing up himself.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

"I found Mister Gravely's history of donations to Adoption Advocates and Roswell Park," said Charles Lee as he slumped down in a chair in the mayor's office.

"What did you find?" asked the interim mayor, Samael Windecker. Samael had been the head of the village board of trustees when Mayor Hardey had a heart attack and retired. The constitution of the village put the head of the village board in the mayor's office until a special election was held within eight months of the change of power.

"First of all, Joshua is his middle name, his first name is Ephraim, and it's not pronounced like most people pronounce it. He hates that and he uses it to start fights. He made his donations under the name Ephraim J. Gravely."

"And what do I have to match?" asked Samael. He wanted, no, he needed Joshua to strut around and sing his praises. These Springville country bumpkins and city raised soy boys that were moving into the village would follow anyone wearing an actual Medal of Honor.

"He's very selective in his donations, donating only to Adoption Advocates, Springville Congregational Church, and to Roswell Park. He prefers to donate his time and energy when it comes to aiding disabled veterans."

"Just tell me how much I need to match to get this rube to sing my praises!" shouted Samael. He was getting sick of Lee burying the lede and drawing out a point until it screamed for mercy.

"Two million dollars to Adoption Advocates, and fifteen million dollars to Roswell Park."

Samael was silent for a long moment, then broke the silence by saying, "You're bullshitting me."

"No sir. He did it, I have a copy of the receipts. He raised seventeen million dollars," said Charles Lee. "He'll be able to claim a bit more on taxes because he donated his time and property to hold the fund raiser. He had help, Paul Jarecki lined up his business contacts and Josh Gravely twisted their arms, and out poured money."

"I need a fund raiser like that on my campaign."

"You're not going to be able to match his donations, sir," said the former colonel.

"Pull-eeze. Like I was ever going to do that in the first place," said Windecker with a sneer. "Work on Gravely's weak spots until he agrees to work for me. Give his disabled friends a reason to curse his name. Have a word or two with that trophy woman of his. A pretty face like that is probably allergic to things... like black eyes."

"Yes sir!" the thought of punching a pretty woman in the face was exciting to former colonel Charles Lee... sexually exciting.

"I understand your wife had a very special relationship with Veronica," hissed Windecker. "VERY special," he added, trying not to laugh at Lee's look of shock. "Maybe you should let dear Joyce know... or should we call her Dominique?"

<><><><><>

"Who are you?" demanded Sandy through the screen door while her twin sister, Madeline, stood behind her for backup.

"I'm here to coach Veronica's dancing," said the tall handsome man on the front porch.

"She already knows how to dance!" said Sandy.

"Girls, what are you doing?" called Veronica from the kitchen.

"There's a salesman at the door!" called Madeline.

"Salesman?" Veronica hurried to the front room of the huge Jarecki house and found Mitch McDonnell and his husband Frank Rollins standing at the front door. The tall, handsome, and slim young men stood at the door, looking down at the twins.

"You sillies, this is Mitch and Frank, they're here to help me dance."

"You dance with two boys?" asked a confused Madeline.

"Those are cute munchkins, what box of cereal did you get them from?" asked Frank.

"Hey!" pouted Sandy, her hands on her hips.

"Girls, it's ok. Poppa Paul lets me use the library for uh... dance lessons. Mitch helped me when I tried to become Miss America."

"Miss America? You were Miss America?" Suddenly, the twins had a new hero. Closer and better than a Disney Princess, too! They led Veronica by the fingers to the library where Josh was picking up their Barbie Dream House. "Hey!"

"We weren't done!" shouted Sandy.

Josh showed Sandy his phone. "I took a picture so we can put everything back exactly where it was."

"Good!" pouted Sandy.

"Or, when Miss Yi gets back we can show her what you left after I asked you to pick up." The twins glowered at him with lowered eyebrows. "Ok, let's get out of the way so Miss Veronica can practice dancing."

"We wanna watch!" pouted the twins.

"Sounds like naptime," said Mitch as Frank set up the stereo he brought.

"We're in third grade!" said Sandy haughtily. "We don't need nap time."

"Third grade?" asked Mitch. "They barely look old enough for kindergarten."

"We do that too," said Madeline.

"They're pretty advanced," said Veronica as she and Mitch began to dance. "They take math and science in third grade, reading in second grade, and they go to Kindergarten for socialization and writing." She told Mitch about Paul's new wife and how she and the twins came into his life. "Paul and Andi are out for some quiet time before her mother arrives and the baby is born. Their governess is out with her boyfriend so Josh and I are watching the twins for them today."

"So what's with this hunk over here? Is he your one and only?" asked Mitch with a lecherous grin.

"Hands off! You're married and he's mine," said Veronica with a laugh. It was good to be dancing with Mitch again. He usually starts coming by in late August to early September so she can tune up for her December dance recital. While they danced, Josh and Frank stood off to the side. They discovered each other was a network administrator and soon they were deep into conversation. They both were former employees of XCom although they worked in separate divisions.

"She's tried to teach me to fox trot," said Josh as they watched Veronica and Mitch whirl around the dance floor. In Paul Jarecki's huge old Victorian, the big empty room they were in was called the library because of the bookshelves that lined the walls. The floor was suspended on heavy springs, cushioning the knees and ankles of the dancers. It used to be fashionable to install a sprung floor in large houses for dance parties. "Ah was thinking of dancing with her at the big party come December."

"Why not?" said Frank. "You three should work something out. You know, cut in on the prom queen during her gala dance."

"Terri would shit," said Josh.

"Pardon?"

"A few people at work kinda realize Veronica and I are a thing, but most don't really care or don't believe it. One of my workers, Terri, swears that Veronica feels sorry for me, that's why she gives me rides to work."

"Why don't you do it?" called Mitch as he swirled by with Veronica. "Stand right there and when we come by, tap me on the shoulder."

"Ok..." Josh stood where Mitch indicated and as they came by, Josh tapped him on the shoulder. Mitch stopped, turned to Josh, gestured to Veronica, and Josh took Veronica in his arms and resumed the dance. They practiced it several times, then, as Josh and Veronica danced, Mitch coached them. "What do you think?" asked Josh as he and Veronica swirled away.

"I think you guys were made for each other."

<><><><><>

Josh was as shocked as anyone that he got the kids to settle down in bed quickly. It was a school night, so their bedtime story came sharply at eight and they were out like little blond lights at eight twelve. Josh had kept them busy most of the day. They were out in the warm late summer air, playing frisbee with Wonka and playing on the swing sets in the park across the street. He tried to teach them to throw a nerf football, but they wanted to punt instead and ended up falling on their butts with each kick. They chased Wonka around the park and burned up all kinds of energy.

Yi wouldn't be home until eleven PM or later, and Paul and Andi wouldn't be home until Monday afternoon, so with the twins asleep Josh and Veronica looked at each other. "Hot tub?" in a flash they were naked and soaking in the hot, soothing waters of the hot tub. "Ah hate this thang," groaned Josh.

"Why?"

"It's too durn hot to grab you and give you the lovin' you deserve," said Josh as he reached across the tub with his foot and strummed her pussy with his big toe.

In response, Veronica just leaned back and spread her legs wider. "There's a very interesting shower down in the basement," she said. "We could rinse off and cool down there."

"I don't know if I could wait that long," said Josh as he watched Veronica's breasts bob in the bubbling water.

Veronica gave him a smile and a twitch of the eyebrow, then said in a silky voice, "Your test results came back."

"What test results?"

Veronica moved across the hot tub and sat next to Josh and ran her hand down his chest, then lower until her delicate hand wrapped around his throbbing cock. "Your sperm test," she whispered as her hand fluttered around his cock, then settled on his balls and began rolling them in her hand.

"My who?"

"Your semen analysis."

"How'd ah do? Ah didn't git a chance to study an all..."

"You scored well above average," said Veronica. "The radiation didn't affect you at all. You're armed and dangerous," she whispered those last words and licked around his ear.

"Lady, I'm gonna fuck you right hear and right now." He squeezed her breast hard, pinching her nipple in the process.

"You ain't got the guts..." then she laughed as he hoisted her out of the hot tub and she found herself bent over, grasping the side of the tub, looking down in the swirling water. "Josh! The neighbors!" she whispered harshly, but she didn't do a thing to stop him. He finally found it, that exhibitionist streak that runs through her core. It used to haunt her. Throughout her life, Veronica did what she could do to suppress the desire, the need to be seen, but sometimes she had to let it go.

She felt his tongue squirming, trying to penetrate her tight anus. Snakey thrills rushed through her as he tongued her tightest pore and she was close to begging for his cock in her virgin anus. The neighbor's house was not close, but the privacy shades around the hot tub were not lowered. If someone looked out, they would see Veronica bent over the hot tub, her breasts hanging down, nipples so hard they ached. Would they see her face with her hair hanging down like this?

Veronica felt Josh rise behind her. His hands gripped her waist and his voice, thick with passion, rumbled, "Ah'm goin' to take you rat here, Nicca. You are mine now."

She knew he was giving her an out, a chance to use her safe word. All she had to do was say "Chocolate," or "I want chocolate," and he would stop. The game would end and they could move to somewhere more private, like down in Paul's basement. She summoned up her courage and said, "You wouldn't dare!"

She was rewarded with a saliva covered cock sliding deep into her receptive womb. She was stretched out and stuffed full; she felt like he was skewering her with a fence post for all the world to see. "Oh God Ephie! You're filling me up..."

"Now I'm gonna fuck you up," said Josh as he began sliding his cock in and out of Veronica. She moaned and cooed with each stroke that plunged deep into her vagina, stretching her open, rearranging her inner organs. His thrusts grew stronger, more forceful, and deeper, if possible. His groin slapped against her ass over and over, and she was sure they could hear them across the street in the park.

His fucking grew more forceful. As Josh slammed into her, he yanked her back at him like a helpless fuck doll. Veronica's breasts shuddered with each slamming thrust. She was now grunting rhythmically as the head of his cock strained for her cervix again and again. "You're going to attract attention," said Josh and he began fucking even faster!

Someone could walk up the driveway to see what was causing the noise they were making. They would walk up the driveway and peer around the corner of the house and see Veronica speared on Josh's huge pole. The thought of being seen by a curious villager set her off. "Cumming!" she cried through gritted teeth and her entire body went into convulsions. She shook and shuddered like she was having an epileptic seizure. Her entire body was trembling and shaking while her brain short-circuited from the extreme pleasure.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking up at the awning that covered the hot tub. The led lights that lined the awning were twinkling a brilliant gold. She was curled up on Josh's lap and she felt aftershocks from that titanic cum. "What happened?" she asked as she felt an orgasm starting up unbidden. It wasn't a big one, but her right leg shuddered as the waves of passion and the release from the build up of sexual tension washed over her again.

"Wow," said Josh. "You cum good." He smiled softly and moved some sweat damp hair from her forehead.

"You fuck good," she said. "Did you cum?"

"Yeah, I was just getting off when you went nuts and... uh... we have to wash up. All I said was 'someone might see us' and you went wild."

Veronica frowned inwardly. He might as well know now. He'll find out some time. "I kinda have a thing about being seen. It sometimes gets me super-hot."

"What do you mean by sometimes. Like on Sundays?"

"No, like there's a chance it can happen. If we're in the house it won't happen. If we're in the house in front of an open window, or if someone else is in the house and we're somewhere like the kitchen, that'll do it. Oh god... here it comes again!" she gritted her teeth and shuddered through another aftershock. Her right leg trembled as the mini orgasm washed over her.

"Wow, does this always happen?" asked Josh.

"Only with you."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

The Thursday before Labor Day weekend meant The Last Cruise. Veronica had wanted to join the Springville Cruisers, a group of auto enthusiasts that cruise the village slowly in their classic cars on Thursday evening. The rule is that if it's so dark at seven PM that you have to turn on your headlights to cruise; the cruising season is over.

Paul Jarecki had a 1971 metallic pewter and black Mustang Mach 1 in immaculate shape. Andi had her father's burgundy 1969 Porsche 911, that she could barely get in with her pregnant belly. The twins were in the back of the car and Heather, Andi's mom, was riding shotgun. Macy had the same problem with her white 1969 Alpha Romeo Spider and her pregnant belly. She bought the car when she was a model decades ago and Paul's mechanics maintained all three cars perfectly. Veronica wanted to cruise and show off that she could drive a stick, so Josh brought Grandpa into the village and they lined up with the cruisers in the 1951 Willys Jeep. Josh had put the roof and rear window on the jeep but hadn't attached the side panels yet, so it was going to be a chilly cruise.

The thunder came when Gus showed up in his 1970 red and black Oldsmobile 442 and Lucy Kocis in her black and chrome 1969 Chevy Nova 396. They sat revving their engines until Shane Brother Shane on WYSL, 1490 AM, called a start to the last cruise of the season. It was a good cruise, but Veronica got excited and let the clutch out too fast and they stalled. "Typical rookie mistake," said Josh. The second time, she revved it up, eased up on the clutch and the wheels chirped, which startled her and she fell off the clutch and it stalled. "Third time's the charm," said Josh. "You don't have any problem at the bottom of Zoar valley, just pretend you're floorboard deep in Cattaraugus Creek."

Veronica started grandpa up, gave Josh an angry frown and they were off. "See? You can do it." They cruised through Springville; the smells of impending autumn filled the air. Apples and apple cider, the smell of burning leaves, the sound of dead leaves crunching under the tire. But they were late, they had fallen behind and a modern car joined their ranks. Josh heard his name called on the radio and he took the cheap GMRS radio out of his pocket, and he heard Paul and Gus complaining about him.

"... and if Josh ever got off his ass and got his Ham license we could do this all on one net."

"I can hear you," said Josh.

"I agree," said Gus. "But I'm not sure he could pass part one of the test."

"I can hear what you're saying," said Josh.

"You mean the part where he has to write his name? Yeah, he may lose points for spelling," said Paul.

"The next time you key up I'm complaining to the FCC that you're interfering with my TV!" shouted Josh.

"Oooo! Somebody has been studying!" chuckled Paul. Part 97 of the FCC rules was a big part of the HAM radio license test, and interfering with a neighbor's TV was on the test.

"Hey Josh, keep an eye on that Toyota in front of you," said Gus. "Let me know if it leaves the formation."

Josh looked around the Toyota. The last cruiser in the pack, a 1976 Ford Pinto, was two blocks ahead of them. Veronica was planning to pull around the Toyota and catch up, but Josh said, "Stay back here, Gus is interested in this guy for some reason. We'll catch up in the park."

"Ok." Now that Grandpa was warmed up, she was doing a good job, but at this speed she didn't need to go into third gear. In two wheel drive, high range, first and second gear was all you needed for village driving. The cruisers entered Zoar Valley Park, a big park with a circular drive that carried you around the park to the various picnic shelters. The shelters were full of revelers out to enjoy the autumn air and watch the Thursday night parade.

The beige Toyota with North Carolina plates was still following the Cruisers, and it was maintaining its following distance. Gus looked back with his side mirror as they went into the wide sweeping curve around the back end of the park and saw that the Toyota was still back there. "Hey Josh, is Woodsey the Owl riding with you today?"

"He shore is!" said Josh. "You want me to wake him up?" He reached under the seat and pulled a pistol holster out and pulled out his Hi-Point JCP.40 caliber pistol. Gus called it Woodsey the Owl because the gun had a woodland camo finish. Josh lived in terror of dropping it into a pile of leaves and never finding it again. He pulled the empty magazine out, slid a loaded magazine into the pistol, then pulled back the slide and let it return, jacking a round into the chamber.

"For someone who hates guns so much, you seem to have a lot of them," said Veronica.

"It's a complex relationship," said Josh as he returned the pistol to the holster and held on to it tight. Hi-Point is a very inexpensive pistol, but they work. If you sprout a.40 caliber hole in your forehead, you will not argue with the shooter over the cost of the gun that killed you.

They exited the park and cruised east on Main Street, and the people of Springville waved as the cruisers went by. Some of the cruisers had signs in their windows or painted "LAST CRUISE 'TILL SPRING" on their windows with white shoe polish. The beige Toyota maintained its separation from the pack, keeping back two blocks and even letting more cars get between him and the cruisers.

Soon they were at the goal of their cruise: the 279 Grille. It was a nice little burger joint / truck stop out where US 240 meets US 39. It had great food, a 1950s atmosphere, and an extraordinarily large parking lot. Veronica parked next to Andi's Porsche and Veronica hopped out to help Andi get the twins out of the back. Josh gave her a kiss and said, "I'll catch up with you Nicca. Gus wants me to do something."

"See ya inside," and she walked in with Andi and the twins.

Josh walked to the back of the parking lot and made his way over to where the beige Toyota was sitting. As Josh approached the Toyota from behind, he took his phone out of his pocket and got ready to take some shots, but the Hi-Point was ready to take some shots as well. Over by the café, Paul, Gus, and Lucy waited. "I could have done that," said Paul.

"No, Josh needs to do this," said Gus in a deadly serious voice.

"Why?" asked Lucy as she clung to Gus's arm.

"He's armed," said Gus.

They turned to look over where Josh was, and with a spray of gravel, the Toyota roared out of the parking lot. Josh soon rejoined them and said, "He saw me and took off the moment he saw me. But I got a few pictures."

"What was he doing?" asked Paul.

"Taking pictures of y'all," said Josh. He brought up the photo album on his phone and showed them what he saw. It was a swarthy, sweaty looking man, darkish complexion and dark greasy hair with an SLR camera that had a telescopic lens. A couple of shots Josh took showed the man's face clearly.

"That's him," said Lucy. Gus and Paul nodded in agreement.

"That's who?" asked Josh. "Who was this jerk?"

"That's Frank Rosetti," said Paul. "He's Andi's worthless ex."

"You tell nobody about this," said Lucy. "Let us handle it. If we need your help, we'll come asking. If you see this guy again, you tell me immediately. Do NOT tell Andi. Got it?"

Josh looked into Lucy's gray eyes. She was painfully plain, but his friend Gus loved her, so that's all Josh needed in the way of personal vouching. "Yes ma'am, but if ah see a friend in danger, ah will take steps."

Lucy set her jaw and nodded, then turned and led Gus and Paul into the café.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

The next evening, Friday before Labor Day, the Buffalo Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society had a special dinner in honor of The Gentlemen's Disagreement's victorious loss. It was held at their meeting hall, the Ellicott Manor in Lancaster NY, and they held it on a Friday when the Ellicott Manor always served fish fry. It was the only thing on their menu. This night it was marked as a Special Dinner.

"What's so special about this fish fry?" asked Sam Lux.

Danny, the owner of the Ellicott Manor, glared at Sam. "Tonight I'm not throwing it at ya."

"That's an improvement," said Sam.

Julissa Tanaka was there to be honored as their 'tune up coach' for the work she did with them before the finals. She brought her Sweet Adelines quartet, the Buffalo Billies, and as a special treat they performed Josh's version of Country Roads as an octet with the Gentlemen's Disagreement. It went so well that Julissa and Dick Daniels decided to do an octet with the Billies for the Christmas show at Shae's theater and they left it to Josh to hammer out the details.

It was a great evening full of laughter and friendship; it was more a comedy roast than anything. Everyone knew that the Gentlemen's Disagreement didn't want to win, but they didn't want to lose either, so coming in third, one place out of being required to compete in the international championships in Seattle was the perfect victorious failure.

Julissa and her quartet stood at the Gentleman's Disagreement's table and their lead singer, Barb Loos, said, "In honor of your third place finish, and your James Bond opening set, we'd like to do a James Bond song for you."

The four couples smiled and waited for the Buffalo Billies to sing. Julissa blew a note on her pitch pipe. They tuned up and sang their version of the theme song from the movie The Spy that Loved Me.

Nobody loses better,

Makes me feel glad for the rest,

Nobody loses half as good as you,

Baby, you're the best.

Sam Lux laughed so hard through their song the guys worried about his health. It was one of those nights you wished would never end. Every member of the chapter came by the Gentlemen's table to congratulate them. It was the first time in twenty years that an all Buffalo Chapter quartet made it to the finals. Many great quartets are made up of guys from different chapters.

They wanted to stay, but Josh and Veronica had work to do. They needed to get the house ready for Veronica's dad, Mike's, visit. They drove home, holding hands the entire way home. "Nicca?"

"What Ephie?"

"Ah think it's getting close to the time we put that diamond back on your hand."

"PLEASE don't tell me that's your proposal."

"No, but I want the rings to be ready when I hit the salvo button."

"The what?" laughed Veronica.

"Ah'm thinkin' after ah propose, it might behoove us to elope, get the legal done, take care of all the paperwork. Ya know, if you want you can change your name, or I can change mine, then we can go to John and Macy and renew our vows in the church. Or we can do it wherever you want to do it."

"You want to change your name to von Köster?" asked a laughing Veronica.

"Nah," said Josh as he turned off the 219 onto Main Street in Springville. "Ah was thinkin of somethin' easy to pronounce. Like John Doe."

"What is going on?" asked Veronica when she saw a police car at Johnson's Feed Store. The lights were flashing.

"Looks like someone tried to rob Johnsons." Josh sighed sadly. That's the last thing Johnson's Feedstore needed. They were barely hanging on financially. The landlord Wehrle Holoway was bleeding them dry of money, stock, and credit, and Josh wouldn't be shocked in the least if the mayor was behind it. He stopped to turn onto Howard Street and a cop whizzed past him on Main Street. He turned on to Howard and then, as they passed the park, they turned on to Second Street. As they pulled into Veronica's driveway, a cop with his lights flashing pulled into Paul and Andi's driveway.

"I hope everything is ok," said Veronica as she sat down on the glider swing to keep an eye on her friend's house.

Josh kissed the top of Veronica's head, then went into the house and fed Tigger and made sure that Tigger didn't scoop Pancho out of the fish tank. Pancho was a tiny goldfish that Josh won at the County Fair. He came in a plastic bag but now he lives in a ten gallon aquarium with several neon tetras, a burgundy Beta fish for roommates and an underwater jungle of live plants and a giant clam that occasionally opened to reveal a pearl and release a bubble.

It was a pleasant night outside and Veronica was sitting on the porch so Josh killed the house lights except for Pancho's light, and joined Veronica on the porch. She had a citronella candle burning, and the temperature was nice. It might be the last nice evening of the year. "We should have gone camping," said Josh as he sat on the glider next to Veronica and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm worried about Andi," said Veronica. As they sat and watched Jarecki's house, a beige Toyota Corolla stopped in front of Josh and Veronica's house on the opposite side of the street. The guy got out and brought out an SLR style camera with a big zoom lens on it. He shot a couple of photos of Paul Jarecki's house, then got back in the car and stayed there. Josh took out his phone, set the camera for 'night' and zoomed in on the man in the car. The guy in the car was using a night vision binocular to study Paul's house. At some point, he took the binocular down to check the photo he took with the binocular. The light from the binocular's fold up screen lit the man's face and Josh got an excellent picture of his face.

He sent that picture to Lucy and waited for his phone to ring, which didn't take long. "Where did you get that picture?" asked Lucy, without introducing herself.

"Just now. He's right in front of my house."

"Why would Frank Rosetti be in front of your house?"

"We live diagonally across the park from Paul and Andi. He's sitting there watching Paul's house. He's got night vision and is taking pictures."

"Damnit!" hissed Lucy. "Paul said that Rosetti followed them from Niagara Falls all the way to Cheektowaga this afternoon. I gotta go. We're leaving for the hospital; I'll call you back as soon as I get a chance." Just then, they saw Paul's big Ford Transit Platinum van slowly back out of the driveway on Howard Avenue.

"That's the car that we followed on the cruise yesterday, isn't it," said Veronica.

"It shore is. Lucy said he followed Paul and Andi home from Niagara falls." He pondered what he wanted to do, then he said, "get the Attention Getter."

Frank Rosetti pulled out his DSLR camera and adjusted the 200 mm night lens on the camera. It was a great lens; it collected ambient light and made a night scene almost as bright as a cloudy day scene. He looked at the house for a long time and he watched Andi and that bitch friend of hers, Lucy, lead a slim woman out of the house. They got in the van and began to back out of the driveway. He's thought of nothing but paying back Paul Jarecki for the humiliation he suffered in December. "My boat," he snarled. Here's his chance... It was time to claim Andi's Dream. Planning to follow that van he turned the key.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The sound went off as loud as a cannon. Somebody rapped on the side window of the car with a rock, nearly breaking it. When the engine started, his headlights came on and Frank saw there in front of him was a beautiful blond woman holding a double-barrel shotgun aimed level at him. "Hey buddy!" demanded a man with a deep baritone voice. "You want something to take pictures of? Step on out here and let's have a talk."

The guy had a deep southern accent, and he did not sound like he wanted to talk. Frank slammed the car in reverse and punched the gas. He took off backwards, but he was watching the woman with the shotgun. He tried to do an emergency brake J-turn, but he wasn't going fast enough, and he backed into the ornate fence around the park. He switched to drive and spun around in the street and raced off into the distance away from his target. He would not find Andi tonight.

"Did you get the license plate number?" asked Veronica as she pulled the bird shot rounds out of The Attention Getter, her twenty gauge double-barrel shotgun.

"Yeah," growled Josh. "North Carolina, it's probably a rental." He sighed. There's some sick people out there. "Let's go call the cops."

<><><><><>

Inside Paul's house, the police radio came alive. "Any unit, see the man, 175 Second Street. Possible 10-83."

"It must be a full moon tonight," grumbled the cop as he wrote the radio call down on his notebook, then keyed his shoulder microphone. "Dispatch, Unit 217, I'm at 289 Howard finishing up, I'll take it when I'm done here."

"Roger 217, be advised, complainant has a signal fifty six of the suspect.

"What's a ten eighty three?" asked Paul. "What's a signal fifty six?"

"A ten eighty three is a possible peeping Tom," groaned the cop. "A signal fifty six is a positive photo ID, it must be my lucky day. I'll finish up with you and my partner will walk over and take the complaint. The call is just over that way," and he gestured toward Josh and Veronica's house. It was a tough night for this corner of Springville, thought the cop. First Yi-Jin Carlson was assaulted by her date. He cleaned out her purse, including the $240 worth of emergency cash in her purse lining and the executive credit card for running Doctor Jarecki's household. She was taken to Bertrand Chaffee Memorial hospital for a rape kit by Doctor Kocis and Doctor Roberts. Then the thief took her employer's credit card and tried to buy a two thousand dollar shot gun over at Johnson's Feed Store. Luckily, Dr. Jarecki called the bank and put a hold on the card immediately.

Now a peeping Tom. This night just will not end.

The cop's partner, an eager young fellow, Patrolman Bill Burke, said, "I'll walk over and take the ten eighty three."

But another voice came on the air, "Unit 4401 is in the area, I'll take the 10-83."

<><><><><>

US Army Colonel (Retired) Charles Lee parked in front of Veronica's house. It was time to let that southern redneck know who was running this village. He strode up on Josh and Veronica's porch and pushed the doorbell, but nobody answered the bell. He pressed the doorbell again and nothing happened. He didn't hear it ring. It was one of those video doorbells. It was lit up and it acted like it rang, but he didn't hear anything from inside the house. He had no way of knowing that Josh turned off the doorbell when he wanted alone-time with Veronica. The bell wouldn't ring, but it would record the video.

Lee walked around back to knock on the kitchen door, but as he walked up the driveway, he saw motion in the basement window. He looked, and it appeared that Josh was discussing a construction project with Veronica. There was a stud wall and Josh was pointing out the electrical wires that were being run. Then Josh began tickling Veronica and tugging at the buttons on Veronica's blouse. She was playing hard-to-get and kept turning away, but Josh kept at it and pulled opened her blouse.

Charles Lee dropped to his knees to get a better view. As Veronica turned away from Josh and toward the window, for a quick moment, Charles Lee saw the most perfect breasts he had ever seen. Not big but full, rounded, and just enough dip to let you know they were 100% real, no silicone additives. The sight of those perfectly round pink quarter coin sized areola and her hard pink nipples would stay with Charles for years.

But just as quickly, former Colonel Lee felt his arm get twisted up behind his back. "Get an eye-full buddy? You sick bastards are all alike." The cop twisted Lee's other arm up behind his back and roughly applied the hand cuffs. "Dispatch unit Forty Four oh One, inform the homeowners at 175 Second Street that I have their 10-83 in custody. Request Unit 217 join me on scene for transport to County Correctional."

Downstairs in the in-law suite they were making for Veronica's dad, Josh got a call from the Town of Concord Police Department. "There's an officer at your address and he has a suspect in custody and he'd like to speak to you."

"Sure, no problem." Veronica buttoned her blouse back up and they went upstairs to meet a police officer on the front porch. He was expecting a town of Concord patrolman, but instead he found an Erie County Sheriff at his door. "Hi, I'm officer Dale Patrick, my partner and I were responding to a peeping tom call at this address and found someone peering through your basement window at you two as you..." the sheriff cleared his throat and looked back at the police car he had parked in Veronica's driveway. Another young sheriff was reading the Miranda rights to Charles Lee, who was cuffed and in the back seat.

"He was peeping on us?" asked Josh.

"Caught him in the act. He was on his hands and knees looking through your basement window. I apologize but he got an..." He was going to say 'got an eyeful' but he changed his mind. "He got an all expense paid trip to County Correctional."

"It's a sick world, but he's not the guy I called to report," said Josh.

"The other guy almost ran me over," said Veronica. (It was almost true)

"I'm not going to drop charges on this one," said officer Patrick. "We caught him in the act."

"No, you can burn him at the stake for all I care, maybe a public flogging," said Josh, knowing that Lee could hear him.

"A public caning would be appropriate," said Veronica. "Somebody has to teach these sick animals a lesson."

Josh pulled out his phone and said, "This is the guy I was calling about." He showed the sheriff the pictures he took earlier. "I believe he's Frank Rosetti. He has been following Paul, or maybe Andi Jarecki for a couple of days."

"He was parked in front of our house with a camera taking pictures of the Jareckis tonight," said Veronica.

"Maybe he's a private detective," offered the junior sheriff's deputy.

"He's Andi Jarecki's ex-husband," said Josh.

"That makes this very interesting," said Officer Patrick with a grim smile. "Let me call this in." He grabbed his microphone for his portable radio. "Dispatch 4401, second 10-83 suspect has been identified as Frank Rosetti, he's driving a 2022 Beige Toyota Corolla, North Carolina plates Charles David Two Seven Seven Four Nine. Last seen heading west bound on second street in Springville."

While that was taking place, Mayor Windecker's cell phone rang. He was in a bar on Chippewa Street in the "party section" of Buffalo and he was chatting up a young lovely. She was skinny, blond and stoned out of her skull. She was the type of woman with negotiable virtue. "Hang on a second, a mayor's work is never done..."

"You're the mayor?" gushed the blond.

"What is it?" Windecker spat into the phone.

"Boss, Lee's been picked up."

"What now?"

"Peeping on somebody's wife," said the voice on the phone.

"He'll be out in a couple of hours. Why are you bothering me?" asked Samael Windecker as he idly stirred his drink.

"They took him to county."

"Shit." Windecker didn't have any pull in the county. Lee may not be out for a day or two. "You go see him, do what you can to get him out and make sure he keeps his fucking mouth closed. Then you tell Lee I'm giving him one week. I want that redneck singing my praises in seven days or there will be hell to pay."