A Bitter Man (Special Forces: Operation Alpha), page 5
I’m out in the kitchen, going through the refrigerator, when the door opens and a pretty lady steps inside. “You must be Audrey,” she says and sticks out a hand. “I’m Penny Markley.”
“The dollhouse lady. Yes. I remember you from the craft fair.”
She smiles and nods. “I was there. I don’t remember seeing you.”
Poor folks. We’re invisible in the world. People don’t see us because it’s too uncomfortable. This is nothing against her―it’s conditioning from an early age. Ignore it and it’ll go away. “I didn’t walk up to your table. Didn’t want to take up space for a paying customer.”
“Most people around here don’t have money to buy something like that. I mostly sell them online. My real job is making scale models for architects and builders. The little dioramas are just extra money for me.”
“Well, you couldn’t prove it by me. That’s some artistic ability you’ve got there. They looked so real that I think if a person could shrink, they could live there!”
“Thank you so much. I’m glad to hear that. That’s what I’m going for―realism. Okay, so have you found stuff for dinner?”
“I’ve found a bunch of stuff but with no more time than I have, I’m trying to figure out how to put it together and make a meal.”
“Then I’ve got just the thing. Come on.” I step out the door to find she’s got a trunkful of groceries. Once we get it all inside, she starts taking things out. “Okay. Three pounds of sweet Italian sausage. Six jars of spaghetti sauce. A bottle of dry white wine. Two quarts of sliced mushrooms and two yellow onions. And five boxes of pasta. Oh! And this.” She plunks a sack down, and inside it are four loaves of crusty bread. “Got this too,” she says and pulls out a huge tub of mixed greens, a container of grape tomatoes, and some crumbly-looking cheese in a tub. There’s a can of grated parmesan in there too. “Did you see any kalamata olives in the refrigerator?”
“Matter of fact, I did. Didn’t know what they are, but they look good. Kinda pinkish?”
“That’s them. We can cut them in half and add them to the salad. I want you to wow them tonight. Guys love spaghetti. Actually, I bought linguini, but they don’t care. Pasta is pasta to most men. Not Tony Walters, of course, but most men.”
Now I’m confused. “Who’s―”
“Tony Walters? Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, and you’ll love his wife. Now, let’s get this cooking, and then we need to sit down for a few minutes and talk.” That idea terrifies me.
It shouldn’t have. Ten minutes after we sit down and start to talk, I understand why Patch loves her. She’s possibly the kindest person I’ve ever met, and funny too. We chat and laugh, and she writes down sizes, clothes for me and for Taylor. When she’s got the entire list, she tears the piece of paper off the pad, folds it, and puts it in her pocket. “After we eat and while you’re cleaning up the kitchen, I’ll go to the store down in Whitesburg and get you enough stuff to last a couple of days. And then one afternoon we can go to the store together and you can get more stuff.”
“But I don’t have―”
“We do. Don’t worry about it. Do you drive?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It’s not ma’am. It’s just Penny.”
“Yes, ma … Uh, okay.”
“Now, let’s get crackin’ on finishing this up and we can eat.”
In under forty-five minutes, we’ve managed to put together dinner, and it smells delicious. Taylor has been asleep in the bedroom behind the kitchen the whole time, and I know it’s because he’s finally in a nice bed and comfortable.
The door opens again and Patch strolls in. “Hey, babe! Saw your car.” As soon as he reaches Penny, he presses a hand into each side of her waist and leans down to kiss her. Her hand comes up and strokes the side of his face, and it melts my heart. They’re so cute together. “What smells so good?” he asks when he stops kissing her.
“Linguini. I knew you guys would like that, so Audrey and I fixed it. We’ve got Italian bread too, and salad.”
“Sounds good. Audrey, do you want to do the honors?”
I’m confused. “Uh, what am I doing?”
“Come here.” Patch goes back to the door, opens it, and points out and up to the side, so I step out and look up.
It’s a freakin’ cast-iron dinner bell like my great-mawmaw used to have on the farm. She’d ring that thing and pretty soon, my great-pawpaw and my regular pawpaw―that’s what we called him, Regular Pawpaw―came into view from the fields. Oh, those were good times! The house was in great shape, and there was plenty to eat. The bathroom still worked, and a lot of people in these parts didn’t even have bathrooms back then, but we did. The sound of that bell … it’s still vivid in my memory. I turn to look at him and he nods, so I step up to it and take the rope in my hands.
The instant I hear those clangs ringing out, I know I’m home. It feels like home and sounds like home. It’s like I’m a child again, sitting at the table with family, laughing and talking, back before my parents both started getting so drunk that they couldn’t even stand up, when Regular Pawpaw and Mawmaw were still alive.
To my surprise, doors start to open on the cottages, and men are moving toward us, big men, strong and bulky. Porter is the third one back and one of the smaller of them. There’s another guy who’s tall but really fit looking, and an older guy, and one who’s huge. He’s a little scary looking. As soon as the first one steps up, he holds out a hand, and when I take it, he slaps his free one over mine. “Audrey, right? I’m Ghost. Glad you’re here.”
“Thanks. Good to meet you.”
The next one takes my hand and does the exact same thing Ghost did. “Hey, Audrey! Glad you’re here. I’m Priest, and if I can help you in any way, just let me know.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
One by one, they all introduce themselves. Porter has stopped, and he brings up the rear. “Have a good afternoon?”
“I did. It’s been interesting. I hope you guys like the dinner. I was having trouble figuring out what to put together from what was in the refrigerator, so I’m glad Penny stepped in.”
Porter grins. “You do know we have a huge freezer, right?”
“Where? I didn’t see one.”
“There’s a big pantry off to the side over there,” he says and points across the big room. “It’s in there.”
I start to laugh, a nervous laugh. “That would’ve been nice to know!” Then I realize what I’ve said. “I’m sorry. Not your fault.”
“Yeah. It is. Totally my fault. And Patch’s. I’ll make him share it. Come on. Let’s get in there and eat.” The hand he presses to the small of my back is warm as he directs me into the kitchen.
But no one is eating. Except Penny. Well, she’s not eating, but she’s getting her food. “Why is no one eating?” I whisper to Porter, terrified that they all hate what we’ve prepared.
“Because ladies go first.”
“I’m an employee.”
“Doesn’t matter. Ladies always go first. So fill your plates and then we all will. Where’s Taylor?”
I point to the door. “Back there asleep. I’ll get him.”
“No. I’ll go get him and help him fill his plate. You go on and get your food.” When I just stand there, rooted in place, he grins. “Scoot!”
“Okay, okay!” I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or thankful. Everybody’s being so nice, and I really don’t know how to react. The few times I was able to take Taylor to one of the chili suppers at the school, nobody even looked at us. Nobody sat with us, nobody talked to us. But I get my food and sit down beside Penny, and in a few minutes, Ghost and Reboot are sitting across from me, and we’re all talking and eating and laughing. Bulldog is sitting on the end, saying nothing, and it makes me wonder what that’s about. Taylor is sitting between Reboot and Porter, and Bear is sitting right beside me. Paddy, the tall guy who’s kinda thin, sits on the other side of Patch. Priest sits on Bear’s other side, and the two men aren’t talking a lot, but they are talking. When our salads are finished, the guys set about picking up the dirty dishes while Penny and I fill our plates with linguini and sauce and grab a piece of bread. The men repeat what they did earlier, with Porter helping Taylor again, and pretty soon, we’re in the middle of round two.
His plate is about halfway empty when Bear leans just a little toward me, and I’m terrified of what he might say. “Miss Audrey?”
“Yes, sir?”
“It’s just Bear. And this is delicious. Thank you.”
“You’re … you’re welcome. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“It’s super good. Really, really good.” He gives me what could pass as a smile, I suppose, and I smile back.
When the meal is over, I start cleaning up, but I’m joined by Priest and Reboot. “We’ll help.”
“You don’t have to do that. This is kind of a ‘try before you buy’ period for me, and I expect to have to do everything.”
“That’s just it, Audrey. You won’t have to,” Priest says with a tiny, sweet smile. “Everybody here helps everybody else. That’s how it has to work.”
“Uh, okay. Thank you. I appreciate it. Oh my gosh, where’s Taylor?”
Reboot looks around. “Last time I saw him, he was with Hollywood.”
“Why do you call him that?”
Priest laughs. “Because he lived all those years in Hollywood! Doesn’t he look like that’s where he belongs?”
“Yeah. He actually does. Do I get a nickname?”
Reboot and Priest both look me up and down, not in a nasty way, and then Reboot chuckles. “I think we should call you Mom.”
“Mom?”
“Yeah, because we’re like a bunch of teenage boys and we’ll drive you crazy if you let us!” Priest says, laughing.
Reboot starts to laugh too. “Oh, I can hear her now. ‘Ghost, I was gonna vacuum your carpet and scrub your shower but I couldn’t get your door open for all the crap in the way!’ You know how he is!”
“How who is?” I hear a voice say.
“You, you nasty ass,” Reboot says, laughing at Ghost’s question.
Priest lays a hand gently on Reboot’s arm. “Hey, remember, there’s a kid around here now.”
“Oh, sorry. Forgot. Sorry, Mom.” Ghost and Priest howl with laughter at Reboot. “What’s so funny? I’ve got a potty mouth!”
I didn’t notice that Penny had left, but about the time I have everything put away, with Porter’s help to show me where it all goes, the kitchen door opens and Penny steps in with a bag in each hand. “Hey, Hollywood, would you help me unload the trunk?”
“Sure. No problem.” He comes back with two bags in each hand. “This is all of it.”
“Good. Come on, Audrey. We’ve got work to do.”
I don’t know what we’re doing. Penny and Porter head into the bedroom at the back, bags still in their hands, so I follow. Once they’ve dropped the bags on the bed, Porter asks, “Anything else?”
Penny gives Porter a big hug. “Nope. Think that’s got it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. See you in the morning, Audrey.”
“Yeah. Goodnight.”
He gives us a little wave as he closes the door. “Goodnight.” I watch him go, and it’s weird. It’s kinda like the light has gone out of the room.
While I’m preoccupied thinking about Porter, I don’t even hear what’s going on, and I turn to find a pile of stuff on the bed. “Whaaaa …”
“Let’s see what we’ve got here. Okay. Package of panties. Package of little boy’s briefs. Four bras, four tee shirts, three pairs of jeans and a pair of sweatpants, socks for both of you. Four tee shirts and four pairs of jeans for Taylor. Gym shoes for you, gym shoes for Taylor. Slippers for both of you. Two pairs of pajamas apiece. And …” She holds up something kind of fuzzy. “A nice robe for you.”
I’m speechless. And a little worried. “Nobody’s told me how much money I’m going to make. How can I pay it back? Do I not get paid until it’s paid for? I don’t know―”
“You’re not paying back anything. When the guys came here, all they had were the clothes they were wearing and twenty-five dollars. That was it. Patch took them to get clothes, shoes, toiletry items. They had nothing. Absolutely, positively nothing. He bought them basically what I bought for you. In a few weeks, they had their paychecks and they could buy more, but they had to have that stuff first to keep going and start working. Same for you. You’ve been in prison too, Audrey, but your prison was poverty. That’s over.” She pulls out her phone and waits, then says, “Hey, babe, can you come over here for a minute? Thanks.” After she’s slipped it back into her pocket, she picks up one of the tee shirts and pulls the tags off it. “We need to get tags off all this stuff and get it in the washer and dryer so you have it to wear.”
It’s like I’m frozen, like I can’t even breathe. Somebody bought me new clothes, pretty clothes. Taylor has things to wear too, nice, new things that will make him feel like more of a regular kid. But he is a regular kid. It’s just that no one has ever seen him that way. “I don’t even know how to thank you.”
Penny laughs. “You can thank me by showing up tomorrow in some of this stuff. I didn’t even know if you’d like it.”
“Like it? I love it. I mean, it’s new. It didn’t come from the church’s clothes closet or the thrift store. It’s … new.” My hands are trembling.
I don’t get a chance to say anything else before I hear the door to the kitchen open and a voice calls out, “Hey, you guys here?”
“Back here, babe!” We’re still pulling tags off.
“What’s up? Oh! Somebody got new clothes. Those are nice. Got some for Taylor too. That’s good.” He leans over and drops a little kiss on Penny’s cheek. “Whatcha need, babe?”
“Audrey said nobody has told her what her salary is going to be.”
“Oh. Guess you kinda need to know that before you can decide if you want to be here, huh?” He stands there for a minute, then says, “How ’bout twenty-five thousand?”
All the air leaves the room and I can’t breathe. “Twenty-five thousand a year?”
“Yeah. That’s not a lot an hour, but you don’t have to pay for a place to live, utilities, or food. And if you do a good job, you’ll get a raise in ninety days. Is that going to be okay?”
“Okay? Oh my god, I don’t even know what to say. Yes. Yes, that’s amazing. That’s wonderful. That’s plenty. I … I could actually buy a car.”
“You don’t have to. The SUVs are always available … Well, most of the time, they are. But I’ve already decided we’ll find you a car, so yes―the money will be all yours. You won’t owe us anything, and you’ll be able to use it to buy things just for you and Taylor.”
“Then yes. I want to work here. I’ll do my best all the time, and you’ll never have to tell me to do something twice. And Taylor will behave.”
“He seems like a good little guy. I have no doubt that he’ll be fine.”
This whole thing seems like a dream. They have no idea what they’ve done for me. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Well, except Taylor. But still … You know what I mean. You’ve given me a chance to have a happy life.”
Patch smiles. “Audrey, honey, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s what Iron Oak Farms is all about.”
Hollywood
It’s been a week, and I can honestly say we’ve had the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten in my life. One morning we had this casserole that had eggs, cheese, sour cream, sausage, peppers, onions, and hash browns in it. It was absolutely delicious. Another day, we had crescent rolls baked with bacon wrapped around and through them and sawmill gravy to dip them in. They were so good. Another day, she had about six different kinds of cereals, plus oatmeal, and all kinds of cut up fresh fruit to put in them, along with yogurt cups and something she calls breakfast brownies. They’re like brownies, only not chocolate, and they were perfect with the cereal and yogurt. The woman knows her food.
And her coffee is better than Starbucks. Think I’m lying? Fight me.
This morning, we had omelets and breakfast steaks, and they were to die for. Everybody raves about her cooking. As soon as I finish, I head back to the office. It’s time to pay some bills and get some things straightened out. Our grocery bill has gone up slightly, but it’s because we’re eating real food, not junk. When Audrey goes to the store, she gets a few bags of chips to go with sandwiches, but most of the time, she just brings back fruit, cuts it up, and leaves it in the fridge for us. She also makes sure there’s some kind of baked something available, like a pie or cookies or a cake. If she’s going to make this stuff from scratch, I don’t care how much money she spends. It’s worth every penny.
I finish with all that and head to the workshop. I’ve only been in there for a couple of minutes when Patch steps up beside me. “Budget doing okay?”
“Yeah. Little high on the groceries, but honestly, she’s feeding us real meals instead of junk, so that’s to be expected.”
“She’s an excellent cook. Good at cleaning too. Everything is spic-and-span all the time. You can go over there anytime during the day and find her cleaning something.”
“I think hiring her was the best thing we’ve done.”
Patch laughs and slaps my shoulder before walking away. “Except for that helicopter!” Damn, he loves that thing.
At lunchtime, the door opens and Audrey comes in with a huge tub. When she opens it, everybody in the building can smell it. Fried chicken drumsticks, potato wedges, and pickles. Reboot gives that lunch his seal of approval on the pickles alone. She tells us to just put everything in the tub when we’re finished and she’ll come pick it up in a bit. Sure enough, forty-five minutes later, she steps in, picks up the tub, and she’s gone.
Maybe it’s just my imagination―I mean, she’s only been here for a week―but I think she already looks healthier. Taylor seems to be thriving, and I think he looks healthier too.
