“Have you let it go to voicemail?”He said that he had once, and nothing.They’d not only not left a voicemail, but they also hung on the line for several minutes, saying nothing.“I’d talk to Brenda in the morning and see if she’s had any trouble like you said.I can’t think of a single reason why someone would call you that many times and not answer you.Perhaps it’s some kid that got your number somehow.”
“I don’t know, but if I find out, I’m going to murder them.It’s been driving me crazy all day.I’m afraid to not answer it today because what if it’s someone who needs me?Then I get aggravated when no one speaks.Am I that hard to talk to?”Locke said he didn’t think so.“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve had enough.If you need me between now and when I get to work in the morning, send up a smoke signal.I’m not answering my phone.”
They both laughed, and Zander felt reasonably better about the whole thing and was able to go to sleep when he got into bed.He hated that he’d come to turning off his phone, but he didn’t think he’d get any sleep if he hadn’t.
The next morning, he got up and left his phone off.He was having a good morning and didn’t want to ruin it before going to work.As he was leaving his house, having told Brenda of the calls, she said that if she had any trouble at home, she’d let him know.But so far, whoever it was wasn’t calling the house directly.The only landline he had was in the kitchen and office, but they were two different phone numbers, so he didn’t know what to think.Brenda didn’t know anything about the calls.
“I’ve made notes on calls that have come in that were a wrong number before.I would usually keep track of them just so I’d know if it came up again.But no, I’ve never had any trouble with people calling and not saying anything.If I have any trouble today, I’ll let you know.”He thanked her and then asked about her appointment.“I’m as healthy as a horse he said.I do hope he meant that in a good way.But my physical went well, and now I’m only waiting on the blood work to come back.I was telling him how you’ve put that treadmill in the break room, and I’ve been using it, and he thought that was grand.I told him, too, that the two of us were eating better as well.”
“Thanks to Demi being on the kick of using only fresh foods.”She laughed and told him that she didn’t feel the need to cheat either.“She has my cook fixing me better meals, too.I’m enjoying feeling better all the time, I have to admit.Not that I’d tell Demi and Mandy that.August said that they made fun of him when he told them how much better he was feeling.”
“I’ll keep it to myself, too, then.I feel great, but I’ll act like I’m not the next time they come around.We don’t want them to get too big a head about this.”After making sure that she knew about his one appointment today, he went into his office.
He loved being an attorney and being able to take on the cases that he wanted to.But what he loved most was helping his family with their legal needs.It also made it so that he could talk to themonce a week or more, so that he could catch up on what they were doing with themselves.He dearly loved his family and was glad that they were happily married, too.He was going to be the most beloved uncle when they started having children.
~*~
Knox and Elaine were having fun at the RV show.He’d found one online and thought it would be the perfect way for them to see what was out there in the way of campers.He’d done his research too and knew which one to buy, but they still wanted to look around and see what the others had to offer.They were going through their second rig when one of the salesmen approached Elaine.He was still in the camper when she stepped out and stood back to hear what he was saying to her.
“I can get you help if you need it.”Elaine said that she was just fine and was looking with her husband.“There are laws about spousal abuse.I can get you away from him if you’d like.”
He remembered the bruises to her face about the time she did and put her hand to her eyes.She told him she was fine and that it wasn’t what it looked like; she’d been in an accident.He just wouldn’t let it go, so he went to save her from more embarrassment.
The salesperson followed them around for the next hour.Knox never left her side in all that time and tried to get her in a better mood.It had taken him all morning to get her out of the self-conscious mood, and within one minute, the man had crushed her back to being afraid of what people would think about her face.
The bruises weren’t so bad now, but they were still there.Yellowed now with age, she had covered them up with a little makeup so that she didn’t draw attention to herself.He wanted to knock the shit out of the man who was bothering her, but kept his cool.They were moving onto the next group of campers when he grabbed her arm.
“I’m going to have to have you release this woman.She needs help getting away from you.”Knox, trying his best to remain calm, told him to back off; he didn’t have it right.“I know what you’re doing to her.You’re to step back.I’ve called the police.”
“For what?”He accused him of beating her.“I am not.She’s been hurt, yes, but not by me.If you would have just asked, we would have told you.”He heard the sirens just as he was getting ready to move on to another group of campers.“Great.Now we’re going to draw more attention to her accident, and you’ve embarrassed my wife.”
“I’d rather be wrong than to allow her to be beaten again by you.”Elaine was trying to explain to the man what had happened when the police pulled up in front of them.He knew one of the cops, Captain Waller, from the local police station.The man, he’d never caught his name, told what his side of the story was.
“You all right, Elaine?”She said she was embarrassed.“No doubt you are.I’m sorry about this, but if you were to give me a moment, I’ll take care of things here.”
“I tried to tell him that I was all right.But he grabbed me and told me to get away from Knox.Like he was the one who hurt me.”Waller said that he’d talk to the other man.“I wish you luck.He’s not been listening to me at all.Even Knox tried to be nice to him about it.”
“Mr.Coulter?That’s your name, isn’t it?”He said that was his name, and he wanted Knox to be arrested for spousal abuse.“There isn’t a more loving couple than these two are.You’ve got it all wrong.”
“I’m not wrong.Just look at her.It looks like he’s beaten her up in the last few weeks.I have a sister at home, and I’d hope that someone would make sure she was all right if she were being beaten up.”Waller said that she’d been beaten up by the principal at the grade school.“Is that what he told you?He’s trying to get out of trouble here, and I want him arrested.No one should be able to knock someone around like he has this woman and get away with it.”
“I’m telling you you’ve got it all wrong.Now calm down a minute and listen to me.”Waller told how she’d been hurt and how the man who had done it was in jail.Knox could tell that he still didn’t believe it, so he wrapped his arm around Elaine when she looked like she was going to cry.They’d gathered a large group of people around them now, and there were cell phones out recordingit.It might well have been funny, but the truth needed to be told.Waller finished the story and looked at him.“This man here has been doing a good job keeping his wife safe since that morning, and you should apologize to them both.You’ve barked up the wrong tree in this, I’m afraid.”
“She’d say anything to save him.”Knox rolled his eyes at the other man.“That’s the way that it works.She’ll get beaten, and then he’ll make up to her, and she’ll go back to him.It’s sick, is what it is.”
“Mister, you’re starting to piss me off.”He lunged at him, and Knox didn’t move.“You’re a big man, are you?You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.We just got married a few weeks ago, and this bruising was there to begin with.She was hurt by David Sheen, the principal at the elementary school.”
He was being dragged away by the police, and Elaine stood by him.He could almost feel her embarrassment, and he felt bad for her.When the man was finally gone, they decided to go home, as the trip had been ruined by the man.Taking her to the one camper that he’d done the most research on, he asked her if she wanted it.It took him an hour to show her what it could do to make her feel like she could get into it again.
“If we get it today, we still have plenty of time to take it out before winter sets in.It has an all-season furnace/air conditioner too, so we’d have heat.It also has that really nice fireplace, too, that can keep us warm.”She asked how long it would take for them to do a shake-down trip.“I’d say about a week.Then we can make a list of things that we need in it when we take it on a more long-distance trip.I’ve thought about kitchen stuff too, spices and the like.We’ll pick them up as we need them.I don’t see us cooking much in the camper.I want to see the sites with you.”
“So we just pack up some clothing and buy what we feel we need as we go?That sounds like it might be expensive.”He said it was going to be their first vacation home together, and they wanted it to be perfect.“I love that idea of not cooking.I don’t enjoy it anyway, so that would be something we can mark off our list.I do love that we can have snacks in the big refrigerator plus drinks.”
“My truck will pull it easily, and if it doesn’t, I was thinking we could get something that matches the camper.We want to look good when we show up at a campground.”She laughed, and he could have jumped for joy.“I’ve been reading up on things that we’re going to need, like propane tanks.This one comes with two, so we don’t have to worry about running out of hot water or heat if we get this one.”
“I love that it has two bedrooms too, and that one of them is a bunk bed.If we still have it when we have children, it’ll be nice for them to have their own space.”She ran her hands along the ladder that was hanging along the bunks.“By the time they come along, we’ll be old pros at this, don’t you think?”
“I think that you’re right.I’m thinking that we need to get a bigger truck before then, too.One with four doors so that it’ll be easier to get them in and out of.”He could tell that she was warming to the idea, and he was too.If they wanted, they could have the tanks filled and be on their way by morning.They’d not go far; it was just a trial period for them, but they’d have fun doing what they wanted when they wanted.“What do you say?Do we buy this one or wait and see others before we decide?”
