11-21-2017, 03:20 PM
The next morning, or technically, middle of the night as it was still pitch black outside, Jay sat at the kitchen table, chin on his hand, and watched the coffeepot as it brewed. He was used to 0400 wake-up, 0430 PT, 0530 breakfast, and 0600 check in. He'd never gone for a run on snow before. While the challenge was tempting, lets face it, Iowa was fucking cold this time of year. And he was attached to all his toes. Maybe after sun up. Yeah.
He paused pouring a cup when his father came in. "Pour me one too, would you boy?"
Jay nodded and pulled another cup from the cabinet, then carried them both back to the table. The two men sat there in equal silence. They were both fully dressed for the day. His dad wore jeans and long-underwear of the type to fit under a pair of heavy-duty coveralls later. Jay was just in a t-shirt and jeans. Neither had shaved, either. Despite popular belief, a beard did keep your face warm.
The silence stretched. Only the sizzle of the coffee pot filled the air. His dad spoke first. "We gonna talk about what happened last night?"
"Nope."
Jay answered.
But it seemed they were going to talk about it anyway. "The preacher made me pray for you before I left his house last night."
His dad went on. He didn't sound too happy to be praying. His dad wasn't the most religious man in the world, but he would have complied with the pastor's wishes out of sheer respect.
"Thanks,"
Jay answered again.
Just to make it a little more awkward, his dad sighed and continued. "Jay, I know things are going to be hard for you for a little while. It's very different. I don't even know why you enlisted to start with. You had college, a girlfriend, and a family-"
"Stop dad. Please. I don't want to have this conversation again."
He glanced at the clock. 0440, it read. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. "What do you need help with around here? I gotta have something to do."
His dad finished off his mug of coffee and stood. "We should have time to check the dairy barn before your mother starts breakfast."
As good enough a plan as any, Jay finished his own mug and went off in search of another pair of coveralls.
At breakfast a couple hours later, his mother didn't bring anything up out of the ordinary. So either she was avoiding the awkward questions or his father hadn't told her about what happened. Cayli had no idea either. She'd slept through most of the confrontation last night. "Anyone need anything from town? I'm going to run to walmart later."
Jay looked around the table, figuring his mom would want to go. She only shook her head and got up to clear the dirty plates. Surprisingly, Cayli was the one to speak up.
"I'll go!"
She turned to their parents, eyes pleading. "Please let me go. Please, please."
Jay found it kind of odd that she asked so fervently, but maybe their parents were stricter with her than they had been with him.
"She can go. I don't mind,"
he interjected. Cayli beamed with happiness.
Their parents exchanged worried looks, but eventually nodded assent. "Alright. But take your cell phone and call me if anything comes up." His mother answered. Jay frowned, like he wasn't going to be in his right mind to keep an eye on his kid sister.
An hour later the pickup rumbled down a two-lane highway toward town. Des Moines was hours away, but there was a smaller town half the distance in the opposite direction. They mostly listened to music along the way in. The kind that made Jay tap the steering wheel with a thumb and once in a while sing along with the words. Cayli smiled, but didn't do much else. Shockingly, it was neither his mom or his dad to ask the awkward questions. It was his fearless, brave little sister. She turned down the music.
"So did you ever go anywhere and fight people?"
Jay blinked. "Uhh. I guess so. Yeah."
"Did you shoot anyone?"
Jay frowned, glancing at her from aside. "Only bad guys."
She laughed at that like he was kidding.
"Where was the farthest away that you went?"
He smirked, this time keeping his gaze settled on the road. "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
She laughed again. The sound made him smile.
"Well what can you tell me?"
"I can tell you that your older brother can kick some ass. So if anyone ever messes with you, they'll answer to me. When we get home tonight, i'll teach you a couple moves to keep someone out of your personal space you don't want in your face. Got it kiddo?"
She beamed. It did interfere with his plans for getting falling down drunk and driving around on the tractor that night to check fences that were probably completely fine. "Tell you what. Let's not even wait for tonight. I'll show you something when we stop."
They were in the Walmart parking lot standing alongside the truck. He had his arms wrapped around Cayli’s shoulders from behind. She’d be a breeze to squeeze, pick up off her feet, and drag away. Which was exactly why he was showing her a couple self-defense moves. “So in this position, you’d stomp on my foot as hard as you can. Twist around to face me, grab my shirt and pull my chest down as you knee me up in the groin. Don’t actually do it. Got it? Alright. And you’d scream as loud as you can. The idea is to get attention and get away. Let’s practice.”
Cayli had spunk. She pretended to do just that then proceeded to grab his jacket and mimic the moves he’d just described. “Good, good.”
He said. ”That should double over any guy. When you’re old enough we’ll get you a concealed carry. I’ll make sure to teach you everything I know.”
He stopped himself. Well. Not everything.
She nodded and they started to turn to go inside when a police squad car pulled behind the truck. A young officer got out, hands at the ready, and eyed Jay and Cayli. “Everything okay there miss?”
On second thought, roleplaying a hostage situation in the middle of a parking lot probably wasn’t the best idea. Jay stepped out into clear line of sight, eyeing the officer’s weapons, stance, confidence, everything about him. He was probably early twenties, which meant he was new to the job, and likely why he was doing street patrol rather than catching actual criminals. The vehicle was new, Jay scanned the license plate briefly, committing the numbers to memory. Everything. He made sure to keep his own stance neutral, meanwhile. As non-threatening as possible. “It’s alright officer.”
“Sir, I asked her,” he interrupted. Jay frowned and glanced at Cayli. She had that deer in the headlights look.
“I’m okay. This is my big brother, he was just showing me some moves to protect myself from bad guys. Jay?”
The name triggered a change in the officer’s expression. He looked him over more closely. “Jay Carpenter?”
“Yeah…”
he replied.
“It’s Anderson. From high school.” Jay’s gaze fell to the badge on the officer’s shirt. Anderson Barnes. Shit. Running into someone from high school wasn’t his idea of a happy reunion at this point.
He stepped forward, offering a hand and a forced smile. “Anderson. Right. Hey man, how’s it going?”
He was alright, he replied, and Jay offered introductions between him and Cayli, trying to keep it as short and sweet as possible. Besides, it was cold out here and Cay had to be getting uncomfortable.
“So you were showing her some self-defense? It actually looked pretty good from what I could tell. Which is why I thought it best to come check out the situation.”
Jay nodded, ready to depart when Cayli dropped the bomb. “Yah! Jay was in the marines!”
He frowned again. Anderson laughed. “Oh is that right? Was, huh?”
Cayli started to answer, but Jay gripped her on the shoulder. “We should get inside. It’s pretty cold. Good to see you, man. Take care.”
Cayli stammered, but Jay dragged her toward the entrance. “Why were you so rude?!”
She demanded of him. Jay shook his head. “Come on! That policeman was nice and you were just plain rude.”
“Cay, don’t,”
he responded.
“Now you’re being rude to me. Why? What’s going on that nobodys telling me? I’m a kid, but I’m not stupid.”
The big box store doors opened on a whoosh, and warm air slammed in their faces. He started to get a cart when she grabbed his hand. Her's was cold as ice. “Why aren’t you wearing gloves?”
he asked. She rolled her eyes and planted herself there in that way that said she wasn’t taking silence as an answer anymore.
His heart dropped into his stomach. “I’ll tell you on the car ride home. Let’s get our stuff.”
She was going to notice the case of liquor he was purchasing anyway. Might as well explain as much as he could. As much as he legally could, anyway.
He paused pouring a cup when his father came in. "Pour me one too, would you boy?"
Jay nodded and pulled another cup from the cabinet, then carried them both back to the table. The two men sat there in equal silence. They were both fully dressed for the day. His dad wore jeans and long-underwear of the type to fit under a pair of heavy-duty coveralls later. Jay was just in a t-shirt and jeans. Neither had shaved, either. Despite popular belief, a beard did keep your face warm.
The silence stretched. Only the sizzle of the coffee pot filled the air. His dad spoke first. "We gonna talk about what happened last night?"
"Nope."
Jay answered.
But it seemed they were going to talk about it anyway. "The preacher made me pray for you before I left his house last night."
His dad went on. He didn't sound too happy to be praying. His dad wasn't the most religious man in the world, but he would have complied with the pastor's wishes out of sheer respect.
"Thanks,"
Jay answered again.
Just to make it a little more awkward, his dad sighed and continued. "Jay, I know things are going to be hard for you for a little while. It's very different. I don't even know why you enlisted to start with. You had college, a girlfriend, and a family-"
"Stop dad. Please. I don't want to have this conversation again."
He glanced at the clock. 0440, it read. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. "What do you need help with around here? I gotta have something to do."
His dad finished off his mug of coffee and stood. "We should have time to check the dairy barn before your mother starts breakfast."
As good enough a plan as any, Jay finished his own mug and went off in search of another pair of coveralls.
At breakfast a couple hours later, his mother didn't bring anything up out of the ordinary. So either she was avoiding the awkward questions or his father hadn't told her about what happened. Cayli had no idea either. She'd slept through most of the confrontation last night. "Anyone need anything from town? I'm going to run to walmart later."
Jay looked around the table, figuring his mom would want to go. She only shook her head and got up to clear the dirty plates. Surprisingly, Cayli was the one to speak up.
"I'll go!"
She turned to their parents, eyes pleading. "Please let me go. Please, please."
Jay found it kind of odd that she asked so fervently, but maybe their parents were stricter with her than they had been with him.
"She can go. I don't mind,"
he interjected. Cayli beamed with happiness.
Their parents exchanged worried looks, but eventually nodded assent. "Alright. But take your cell phone and call me if anything comes up." His mother answered. Jay frowned, like he wasn't going to be in his right mind to keep an eye on his kid sister.
An hour later the pickup rumbled down a two-lane highway toward town. Des Moines was hours away, but there was a smaller town half the distance in the opposite direction. They mostly listened to music along the way in. The kind that made Jay tap the steering wheel with a thumb and once in a while sing along with the words. Cayli smiled, but didn't do much else. Shockingly, it was neither his mom or his dad to ask the awkward questions. It was his fearless, brave little sister. She turned down the music.
"So did you ever go anywhere and fight people?"
Jay blinked. "Uhh. I guess so. Yeah."
"Did you shoot anyone?"
Jay frowned, glancing at her from aside. "Only bad guys."
She laughed at that like he was kidding.
"Where was the farthest away that you went?"
He smirked, this time keeping his gaze settled on the road. "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
She laughed again. The sound made him smile.
"Well what can you tell me?"
"I can tell you that your older brother can kick some ass. So if anyone ever messes with you, they'll answer to me. When we get home tonight, i'll teach you a couple moves to keep someone out of your personal space you don't want in your face. Got it kiddo?"
She beamed. It did interfere with his plans for getting falling down drunk and driving around on the tractor that night to check fences that were probably completely fine. "Tell you what. Let's not even wait for tonight. I'll show you something when we stop."
They were in the Walmart parking lot standing alongside the truck. He had his arms wrapped around Cayli’s shoulders from behind. She’d be a breeze to squeeze, pick up off her feet, and drag away. Which was exactly why he was showing her a couple self-defense moves. “So in this position, you’d stomp on my foot as hard as you can. Twist around to face me, grab my shirt and pull my chest down as you knee me up in the groin. Don’t actually do it. Got it? Alright. And you’d scream as loud as you can. The idea is to get attention and get away. Let’s practice.”
Cayli had spunk. She pretended to do just that then proceeded to grab his jacket and mimic the moves he’d just described. “Good, good.”
He said. ”That should double over any guy. When you’re old enough we’ll get you a concealed carry. I’ll make sure to teach you everything I know.”
He stopped himself. Well. Not everything.
She nodded and they started to turn to go inside when a police squad car pulled behind the truck. A young officer got out, hands at the ready, and eyed Jay and Cayli. “Everything okay there miss?”
On second thought, roleplaying a hostage situation in the middle of a parking lot probably wasn’t the best idea. Jay stepped out into clear line of sight, eyeing the officer’s weapons, stance, confidence, everything about him. He was probably early twenties, which meant he was new to the job, and likely why he was doing street patrol rather than catching actual criminals. The vehicle was new, Jay scanned the license plate briefly, committing the numbers to memory. Everything. He made sure to keep his own stance neutral, meanwhile. As non-threatening as possible. “It’s alright officer.”
“Sir, I asked her,” he interrupted. Jay frowned and glanced at Cayli. She had that deer in the headlights look.
“I’m okay. This is my big brother, he was just showing me some moves to protect myself from bad guys. Jay?”
The name triggered a change in the officer’s expression. He looked him over more closely. “Jay Carpenter?”
“Yeah…”
he replied.
“It’s Anderson. From high school.” Jay’s gaze fell to the badge on the officer’s shirt. Anderson Barnes. Shit. Running into someone from high school wasn’t his idea of a happy reunion at this point.
He stepped forward, offering a hand and a forced smile. “Anderson. Right. Hey man, how’s it going?”
He was alright, he replied, and Jay offered introductions between him and Cayli, trying to keep it as short and sweet as possible. Besides, it was cold out here and Cay had to be getting uncomfortable.
“So you were showing her some self-defense? It actually looked pretty good from what I could tell. Which is why I thought it best to come check out the situation.”
Jay nodded, ready to depart when Cayli dropped the bomb. “Yah! Jay was in the marines!”
He frowned again. Anderson laughed. “Oh is that right? Was, huh?”
Cayli started to answer, but Jay gripped her on the shoulder. “We should get inside. It’s pretty cold. Good to see you, man. Take care.”
Cayli stammered, but Jay dragged her toward the entrance. “Why were you so rude?!”
She demanded of him. Jay shook his head. “Come on! That policeman was nice and you were just plain rude.”
“Cay, don’t,”
he responded.
“Now you’re being rude to me. Why? What’s going on that nobodys telling me? I’m a kid, but I’m not stupid.”
The big box store doors opened on a whoosh, and warm air slammed in their faces. He started to get a cart when she grabbed his hand. Her's was cold as ice. “Why aren’t you wearing gloves?”
he asked. She rolled her eyes and planted herself there in that way that said she wasn’t taking silence as an answer anymore.
His heart dropped into his stomach. “I’ll tell you on the car ride home. Let’s get our stuff.”
She was going to notice the case of liquor he was purchasing anyway. Might as well explain as much as he could. As much as he legally could, anyway.
Only darkness shows you the light.