“I’ll be fine. You’ll be right behind me,” she told him with a certainty in her voice that had him feeling warm inside.
Julian loved that Petula looked at him as her safety net. After his shitty childhood years, where he’d basically been written off as a wimp by so many of his peers, Julian still got pumped when his current place in the world was validated.
“Just promise me you’ll be extra careful today,” he cautioned.
“I will,” she returned. “Andyoulet me know if your arm starts bothering you.”
Julian chuckled. “It’s fine, Petula.”
“You’d say that if it was falling off,” she huffed. “I promiseI’llbe careful. You have to give me the same consideration.”
“Fine,” he chuckled. “If I’m hurting, I’ll let you know.”
“There. That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” she chided playfully. Then, without hesitation, she added, “I love you.”
Julian would never get tired of hearing that.
“I love you, too,” he told her.
Getting off the phone with Petula, Julian immediately called Statler.
“What’s up?” Stat asked.
“I just thought I’d give you a heads up. Petula’s route was changed today at the last minute.”
“Well, that sucks,” Statler grumbled. “Where is it?”
Julian gave him a list of stops along the rural route that Petula had passed on to him.
“You don’t sound too happy about this,” Statler probed. The astute man had heard the misgivings in Julian’s voice.
Julian sighed. “I just… You know how it is with those of us who have…seen things. I’m having a bad feeling about today.”
Statler didn’t brush him off. As one military vet to another, he knew better than to poo-poo a fellow serviceman’s instincts, but hedidtry to deescalate Julian’s concerns. “Your itchiness could simply be because the last time you were out, you got shot,” he offered.
“Could be,” Julian agreed reluctantly. “But this feels…different.”
“Would you be more comfortable if I came and joined the wagon-train?” Statler offered immediately.
Julian wasn’t going to turn down that offer. “Iwouldfeel better. Yes,” Julian told him.
Statler sighed, but Julian could tell it was all for show. “Okay. Fine. I’ll finish up here. Give me forty-five minutes.”
Julian had heard the man’s band-saw going, and hated dragging him away from a project, but Petula’s safety came first, so Julian plotted out their trajectory for him.
Based on the deliveries Petula would make, Julian gave his best guess as to where they’d be in an hour, and relayed it to Statler.
“I’ll find you,” he returned. “And if I can’t, I’ll call.”
“Good. See you soon,” Julian agreed, and hung up.
The roadsthey were traveling were well off the beaten path.
Had Julian thought Petula’sotherroute was rural?Hah.This one wasreallyin the back-woods. Often times there was only enough room on the roads they were traversing for one vehicle, with overtakes for when you met traffic coming the other way. Which wasn’t often, thank god. The road forward was hilly and twisting, sometimes paved, but more often than not, dirt.
The going especially sucked in his little rental car. He’d opted to drive it today because it was easier on his stitches. Julian wished he had his truck. Petula’s van, ahead of him, seemed able to navigate the bumpy terrain without too much trouble.
Just over a half hour had passed since his call to Statler, and Julian was beginning to relax. A bunch of Petula’s sparsedeliveries had been accomplished, albeit slowly, and there’d been no sign of trouble.
