Desperate Times (13 page)

Without water, there was no hope of saving
the cottage. The men used wet blankets and rugs to keep the flames
from spreading, but like a candle in the night, the fire continued
to burn for hours.

They continued to fight the fire until the
distant roar of motorcycles filled the night air. The rumble grew
until it sounded as if they were nearly upon them.

And then to everyone’s terror, the
motorcycles stopped and the engines were killed.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt authorized the forcible internment of Japanese
Americans with Presidential Order 9066. This granted power to local
military commanders to designate military areas as exclusion zones
from which any or all persons may be excluded. Lieutenant General
John L. DeWitt administered the internment program. He testified
before Congress that: “Japanese Americans were a dangerous
element.” He further stated: “We must worry about the Japanese all
the time until he is wiped off the face of the map.” Again, this
was the man in charge of the internment program.

Over forty years would pass before Congress
and President Ronald Reagan would officially apologize for this
action.

The morning warmed unusually fast, the
blazing sun turned the insides of their little tents into ovens.
Despite the late night, nearly everyone had rolled out of their
nylon steam cookers by eight, with even the most stubborn sleepers
getting up by eight thirty. In twos, threes, and fours, the tired
groups made their way into the kitchen where they were treated to a
huge buffet-style breakfast. They ate off of paper plates piled
high with pancakes, eggs, sausage, fried potatoes, fresh fruit and
toast. There was cold milk, juice and plenty of hot coffee. The
good food and unusual summer-like weather created a vacation-like
atmosphere.

Many from the group spent the morning down by
the lake where Ken maintained a lawn the size of a football field.
The lot was divided by the narrow gravel drive that led to the
Birkland place. The grass ended at a small beach shaded by white
pines that towered above the lake. Ken had his three fishing boats
in the water and tied up at the dock. Small waves lapped
hypnotically against their hulls. Children kicked off their
sneakers and waded close to shore. Parents congregated by the
beach, some meeting for the first time. Buckets were filled and
people cleaned up in the cool water, laughing as they dumped it
over hair slicked with shampoo and conditioner. Jimmy had done this
earlier and knew just how cold that lake water was. He had changed
into a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt and felt surprisingly
good for all that had happened.

Not everyone was able to join in the festive
atmosphere. Two of their number had died the night before.
Overnight, two of their group had decided to risk the long drive
back to Crown. Sharon Bauer had spent most of the night next to the
freshly dug graves, grieving for her fallen husband. Someone had
given her a sedative and she’d finally been able to get a couple of
hours of restless sleep. She wanted to go home. She needed to
inform both Tom’s parents and hers that Tom had been killed. Bernie
Lewis, a close friend of Tom’s, had offered to drive her back. She
tearfully accepted. Ken filled the tank of the Bauer’s Toyota and
they soon hit the road.

More tears were shed and many had tried to
reason with the pair that traveling was unwise. The protests were
light as the pair carried an unshakable resolve to do what they
felt had to be done. Bernie carried a .44 Smith and Wesson and his
shotgun was loaded in the backseat.

Jimmy wished Sharon and Bernie good luck,
hugging Sharon before she left. He didn’t know what else to say. He
still felt responsible for both Bob Campbell’s and Tom Bauer’s
deaths. Ken had tried to absolve Jimmy from his guilt, telling him
that if Tom and Bob had been in his situation that Jimmy would have
been the first to go back and try to rescue them. That had helped
because Jimmy knew it to be true. Still, he had cried when he’d
hugged Sharon and guilt burned his insides like flaming
gasoline.

Julie had tried to comfort him, joining him
and the others at the side of the Toyota as it began to back away.
She slid alongside him and hugged him around his waist with her
right arm. They stood there in silence and watched the car
disappear beyond the pines as it slowly drove away. Julie stood
there for a few moments and then returned to the house. Jimmy
watched as she slowly walked up the stone-lined driveway and up the
concrete steps. Jimmy dried his eyes, lit up a cigarette and walked
aimlessly until the Camel began to burn between his fingers. He
felt terribly conflicted as he’d watched Sharon and Bernie drive
away. Who knew what they were headed back to? No one could venture
a guess. Yet Sharon had driven away carrying a horrible grief with
her. The Toyota had taken much of that awful sense of loss away,
along with the two travelers. There was no denying that.

A few cars passed by heading toward Sally’s
place. The loaded vehicles gave Jimmy hope. He reasoned that if
people could still make it up there, maybe Sharon and Bernie would
make it back to Crown. He walked down the narrow road and kicked
gravel as his thoughts turned to Paula. He opened his cell phone
and saw that nothing had changed. Still, he knew that even if the
towers were working, he doubted he’d get a signal. He cursed to
himself. He desperately needed to know how she was. He felt too far
away, helpless to do anything except keep her in his prayers. He
walked back to the house and sat in the backyard at the picnic
table.

Thinking about Paula snapped him out of his
self-inflicted gloom and he began to analyze their present
situation. Ken had informed everyone that there would be a meeting
in the back yard just before lunch, but it was for adults only.
Cindy stopped by for a quick visit and made it very clear that she
planned on attending the meeting. She went on to say that she hoped
her dad would sleep through it. As far as Jimmy knew, Bill had yet
to crawl out of bed. He’d pitched his battered yellow tent in the
middle of the back yard, where it sat roasting in the bright
sunshine.

Bill’s face emerged from between the zippers
just after eleven. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked,
stretching.

“Look who’s up,” said Jimmy. “Breakfast is
over, man. You slept through it. How did you do that? It must be
over a hundred degrees in there.”

“I took a couple of pills last night and they
worked like a charm,” said Bill, wiping sleep from bloodshot eyes.
“What’s up for the day? Are we gonna go fishin’?”

“Maybe this evening,” Jimmy said. “We’re
going to have a meeting here in about half an hour. If you’re
hungry there might be something left over from breakfast in the
kitchen, I don’t know.”

“A meeting?” asked Bill, who stood barefooted
in a sweat-soaked white t-shirt and a pair of rumpled Bermuda
shorts, white legs glowing in the sunlight. “That’s a good idea. We
need some rules around here. I think rule number one is to get some
food in Bill’s belly.”

Jimmy groaned as Bill patted his stomach; his
hair was wet and stood out in tangled spikes. Jimmy could smell
last night’s beers on Bill from five feet away. His eyes were
red-rimmed and his face was puffy and dark with razor stubble. He
looked like hell and Jimmy stepped away as Bill shuffled up to the
back door and into the kitchen.

Glen Putnam and Pete Donnelly appeared from
the side of the house carrying a picnic table which they set down
in the shade under the maple. Others emerged, carrying lawn chairs
and they arranged them in a circle in the grass. Jimmy pitched in,
gathering up patio chairs from the deck at the front of the house
and carrying them to the back yard where he placed them with the
others.

Bill emerged from the kitchen looking glum,
holding a large Tupperware bowl brimming with cold cereal. He sat
down at the picnic table and watched with disinterest as the others
went about their work. “This sucks,” he said. “Why didn’t you wake
me up?”

“I was busy,” snapped Jimmy. “Sharon Bauer
left this morning.”

Bill simply nodded and resumed chewing. “Wake
me up next time,” he said with his mouth half full. “You know me; I
hate to miss a meal.”

Jimmy left him there, milk dribbling down
from the corners of his mouth. He was angry about Bill’s attitude,
especially his inability to comment on Sharon’s sudden departure.
He fumed because he knew this was Bill’s way. Like a spoiled child,
he cared little for anything that didn’t affect him directly. Jimmy
walked back inside the house, through the empty kitchen and joined
a group which had congregated in the living room. Jimmy saw Julie,
her back to him as she stood next to the stone fireplace on the far
wall. She had changed into shorts and a sleeveless blouse and her
long brown hair cascaded down her back. She held a coffee cup and
was visiting with two young men Jimmy recognized but didn’t know.
They hung on her every word, unaware that anyone else was in the
room. Jimmy smiled and took a seat next to Patty on the couch. She
sat alone at the far end of the room, paging through a ragged
magazine.

“How are you, honey?” she asked, patting his
knee.

“I’m okay,” said Jimmy. “It was tough to see
Sharon and Bernie leave,” he added. “I hope they’re okay.”

“We’re all praying for them,” Patty said.
“They had to do what they had to do. It was a terrible thing, but
God has a time for all of us…”

Jimmy nodded and quickly changed the subject.
“Thanks again for breakfast. That was incredible. You might have
missed your calling, Patty.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I enjoy it. Besides,
we’re all going to need our strength. There’s work to do—quite a
bit of it, according to my husband. I don’t know what to think. How
do you feel about this wall he wants to build? Don’t you think that
it’s a little much?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, I’ve been thinking
about that and I think it’s a good idea. Ken’s right. We’ve got a
good crew of men here and we can probably finish it in a few days.
There’s nothing wrong with being proactive.”

Patty nodded and her face became somber.
“Well, it’ll give everyone something to do. I just hate the thought
of spoiling this lawn. We’ve tended it for forty years. I know—I’ve
got to let go. It’s just difficult.”

Jimmy patted Patty’s hand and then he gave it
a firm squeeze. “I understand,” he said. “I hate the thought of
cutting down any of your beautiful trees.”

Julie noticed Jimmy on the couch and suddenly
plopped herself down next to him on the arm. She stretched her arm
over his shoulder, careful to avoid the spot where the bandage was
visible. The two guys at the fireplace were watching with obvious
envy, shaking their heads.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

Jimmy nodded and felt his stomach muscles
tighten at her touch. He felt as if all eyes in the room were on
the two of them. She smelled of lilacs and caressed his shoulder as
if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’ve got to start getting ready for lunch,”
Patty said. “Julie, would you mind finding Brenda and joining me in
the kitchen? I just want to have everything ready to go just as
soon as the meeting’s over.”

“Sure thing,” Julie said with a smile. She
gave Jimmy’s shoulder a little squeeze. “I’ll see you in a bit,”
she said to him with a quick wink. She eased off the couch and
walked out through the French doors and onto the porch. A few
seconds later the screen door groaned and slapped shut behind
her.

“She’s got eyes for you,” Patty said quietly
with half a smile.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jimmy
groaned.

“I think I can do that,” whispered Patty. “Do
you know she’s pregnant?”

Jimmy’s jaw dropped. He rolled his eyes and
shook his head. “You got me there,” he said quietly. “Are you
sure?”

“Yes, and don’t you say a word to anyone.
Brenda made me promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone, especially you.
Nobody knows. Brenda found out by accident; she found the little
test kit in Julie’s bathroom, just yesterday morning.”

“You’re kidding me,” Jimmy said, shaking his
head.

“No I’m not,” whispered Patty. “I had to tell
you. I’m sure you understand why. I don’t know Julie that well, but
Brenda told me that Julie and her boyfriend just broke up. The poor
thing, I can’t imagine how she must feel. I don’t mean to be a
gossip. Julie has no idea that Brenda even knows about it. Be
careful. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Thanks,” said Jimmy, and he held his hand
over his mouth like a football coach on the sidelines. “You know
I’m still in love with Paula. I’m not interested in Julie; she’s
just a friend. Trust me, I’ll be careful.”

“I knew that,” whispered Patty. “It’s written
all over your face.”

“Really?”

“I didn’t live to be this age without picking
up a few things along the way. I’ve seen the way you look at Paula.
I’ve also seen the way you are with Julie. The trouble with girls
like her is that she sees you as a challenge. You’re not fawning
over her like all of these other young men. She’s quite the looker.
And she’s head over heels about you, and why not? You’re the most
handsome man here, besides my Ken,” she said with a girlish
giggle.