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Brenham, Jay. (2015-08-31). Survival in the Seven Cities: Oak Penny Literature. Kindle Edition.

To my wife:

When I’m in the trough of the wave I look up and there you are at the crest, reaching out a hand to pull me up.

CHAPTER ONE

Gloria called it getting to know somebody; her best friend Annie called it a "slow burn romance." Whatever the name, Gloria's relationship had transitioned from a smoldering spark to a three-alarm fire.

It hadn’t always been like that.

"Gloria, he's a great guy, give him a chance," Annie had said.

But Gloria had never been interested in the nice guys. Her tastes had always veered toward the dark and brooding, sometimes too dark. And where had that gotten her? Three children without their father, that's where. More out of a favor to Annie than with any hope of meeting Mr. Right, she agreed to meet Roger for one date.

That was almost a year ago. Today, for what was probably the thousandth time, Gloria looked at herself in the mirror. Her blond hair was pulled back in a messy bun; her bangs were carefully parted and fell to either side of her face. Her black halter top hugged her frame, showing the perfect amount of cleavage. A classic black lace skirt flowed halfway down her thigh. Gloria gave herself a reassuring look and told herself that her appearance was the exactly the right mix between old-fashioned class and today's style.

Now if only she could get the kids in the car.

It was as sure as the rising sun that the kids would be late; she hated being late to meet Roger. Not because he would be angry. In fact, he was so easy-going he wouldn't mind sitting on one of the benches at the water front until she arrived. She could show up twenty minutes late and Roger would be all smiles.

"Izzy, Abby, Bobby!” she yelled, more out of habit, than any direct knowledge of what the children were doing. “Get your swimsuits on! And Abby make sure you put sunblock on your little brother."

As Gloria came around the corner she saw the unthinkable waiting for her on the couch: three children, fully dressed and ready for the beach. All three were smiling.

Gloria gave them a suspicious look. "Sunblock?"

With a curious lack of attitude in her voice, Abby, her fourteen-year-old replied, "Already on, Mom." Anticipating her mother’s next question, she followed up with, "On all of us. And we remembered our faces and ears."

"And what about Bobby's—"

"Life jacket? It’s in the car," said Izzy, shaking her head and throwing her crazy tangle of hair behind her shoulder in a dramatic fashion. A lot of attitude for a ten-year-old.

Abby and Izzy were her girls. They liked princesses and painting their toe nails. For a while she thought Izzy was destined to be a tomboy, but as she got closer to the end of elementary school she became more interested in separating herself from the boys. Despite her slow drift into the traditional feminine she was fiercely competitive, and she took any sort of challenge as a competition.

Bobby was squirming on the sofa, barely containing himself. Her eight-year-old wild man. What was she going to do with him? He was a good boy but the city was no place for him. Bobby was an outdoor cat, he needed a place to run and their little house in Norfolk wouldn't cut it much longer.

"Okay, let's go meet Roger,” Gloria said. “Thanks to you guys, we might actually make it on time."

CHAPTER TWO

Gloria spotted Roger sitting on a bench watching the water, just as she expected him to be. He was always punctual. Some men she’d dated liked to play games: they wouldn't show up on time just to see if she would wait. Who was she kidding? There were times when she’d done the same thing, but with Roger it was different. You got what you saw with Roger. Even if she’d wanted to play games with him, how could she? He was so upfront and honest; it would be like kicking a golden retriever.

He was no pushover though. There was something inside him that nobody expected, a confidence other men didn’t have. They’d been on a few dates before she saw it. One night they’d gone out to dinner at a little Irish pub. He had a Guinness and was teasing her for ordering a Smithwick's. That's when Eddie came up to their table. Eddie was an old mistake, a rough guy Gloria had dated a few years before. He’d had a hard life and, as a result he knew his way around a fight. The part that bothered Gloria most was that, deep inside, she liked a man who knew how to fight.

Roger was an engineer. Not exactly the bar-brawl type. Gloria spotted Eddie from across the room and accidentally made eye contact. She quickly looked back down at the table.

"Let's get out of here," she murmured.

"We just got here,” Roger protested. “We haven't even ordered." "I just want to-"

Roger followed her eyes and saw Eddie walking towards them. Roger gave Gloria a knowing glance and reached for his wallet as they stood up, but Eddie was too fast.

"Hey, don't leave on account of me," Eddie said as he walked up to the table. Gloria was still sitting and he stared down at her. “I just wanted to say hi to Gloria.”

"Hi Eddie," Gloria said, her eyes cast down.

Roger had given her a puzzled look; he’d never seen this side of her before, deference to a man like Eddie, as if he had power over her. Even Gloria didn't know why. It was how she acted with men like Eddie, and Eddie knew some things about her past she would be embarrassed for Roger to know.

Eddie was bold on your average day but tonight he was bolstered by liquid courage. Not drunk, but he’d had enough to loosen his tongue.

"We were just leaving," Roger offered.

"Your beers are full, you can't be leaving. And Gloria you didn't introduce me to your friend." Eddie grinned. She’d seen that grin before. Eddie turned to Roger with his hand extended. "The names Eddie."

Roger didn't take Eddie's hand.

Eddie squinted down at Roger. "What's your problem, man? I'm just trying to meet Gloria's new friend." Then, without skipping a beat, Eddie turned to Gloria. "You know I've missed you, Gloria."

Gloria looked nervously at the ground. "Ummm, I don't know what to say Eddie."

"You don't need to say anything. Why don't we go someplace together?"

She didn’t look up. "Eddie, ummm, I don't think, ummm-"

Roger cleared his throat. "I don't mean to speak for you, Gloria, but I don't think she wants you here, Eddie."

"Then don't speak for her,” Eddie said. “Gloria knows what she wants and it sure as hell isn't some L.L.Bean model mother fucker." He turned back to Gloria. "Isn't that right, honey?"

The memory of that night was just that and as Gloria walked toward Roger, the warm ocean breeze blowing on her face, she remembered how she’d felt at the pub. She’d been scared, not for herself, but for Roger. For God's sake, Roger was an engineer. And Eddie was right: he did look like an L.L.Bean model, the type of guy you might cozy up to with a good book and a yellow lab in Maine. He wasn't made for bar fights.

Roger shook his head. "Eddie, please, we’re trying to have a nice evening. I'll get a couple of beers for you. Just let us enjoy the night."

Oh shit, Gloria thought. If Roger wasn't at the point of no return with Eddie, he was now. Eddie would see Roger's attempt at defusing the situation as weakness and go on the offensive.

"Oh I see what you're doing here, Richie Rich,” Eddie sneered. “You think you’re better than me? You think you can buy me with a beer?"

Roger shrugged, seemingly blind to what was happening. "No, I was just hoping to have a nice evening with Gloria."

Eddie tipped his head back and let out a fake laugh. "Oh, now I get it. You think you can flash your money and Gloria will be impressed."

“I would love to meet some of Gloria's friends but I can tell that Gloria wants you to leave."

The fight was inevitable. Gloria could read it in Eddie's posture.

Gloria stood up to leave with Roger, but Eddie took a step toward her and grabbed her by the arm. "You think you know what Gloria wants, but I could tell you some stories about-"

Roger shoved Eddie away from Gloria. Eddie released his grip on her bicep, instinctively pulling his hands up to guard his face. Just like Gloria, he hadn't expected Roger to attack.

Eddie took a step away from Gloria and faced Roger.

"Oh you fucked up now, L.L.Bean."

Gloria backed up, away from the two men. "Please stop. This doesn't have to happen."

Roger held his hands up a little higher than chest height. He looked like one of those UFC fighters she had seen on television. "No Eddie, it doesn't. Why don’t you walk away?"

In answer, Eddie stepped toward Roger and threw a hard right cross but Roger was ready for it and sidestepped. The move bought him enough time to step into Eddie and throw an underhook beneath Eddie's right arm. Roger put both hands above Eddie's shoulder joint and clasped them together, pushing down on Eddie’s shoulder with all his weight. As Eddie crashed to the floor, Roger shifted his weight and brought a knee to rest on the back of Eddie's neck, immobilizing him.

Gloria looked at Roger with surprise. He’d been so calm, so unassuming. She hadn’t expected him to react the way he had. It must have taken Eddie by surprise as well.

"Get the fuck off my neck, L.L.Bean," Eddie said.

"I will when you say we're done here," Roger said, with a calm voice.

"Christ, we’re done. Just get off my neck," Eddie spat through clenched teeth.

The entire pub was standing, watching silently as Roger let go of Eddie and stood up, reflexively taking a few steps back.

Eddie pushed himself to his feet and charged, but Roger wasn't fooled. He sidestepped again and caught Eddie with another underhook, then his right arm shot out, palm against Eddie’s neck so he could control Eddie's direction of travel. Eddie crashed to the floor. Again Roger let him up after a moment.

Eddie kept attacking. Each time Roger would block him and take him to the ground, always releasing him and prepping for the next assault.

Gloria could tell Eddie was getting tired, and she knew his pride was hurt. In a last ditch effort, Eddie lunged for a beer bottle but Roger caught him before he could grab it.

That's when the cops showed up. They handcuffed Eddie and interviewed everyone in the pub. A bald cop named Taylor talked to Gloria. He had tattoos on his forearms; he looked like he should be riding a motorcycle with a three piece patch on his back, not a badge.

All the witnesses agreed Eddie was the aggressor, but Roger didn’t want to press charges. In his mind, the confrontation had been settled.

They walked along the street after that, hand in hand, with her head on his shoulder. Neither spoke until finally, beneath a blooming cherry tree, Gloria turned to Roger.

"Roger…about the stuff Eddie said…I should tell you what he was-"

Roger shook his head, looking stern. She had seen that expression before. This is what a man looked like before he broke up with her.

BOOK: The Seven Cities Saga (Book 0): Survival in the Seven Cities

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