weren’t required, but felt good nonetheless. There was a weight on Stephen’s shoulders that came with that level of trust, but he enjoyed the challenge. Both he and Billy knew that Billy had a gift for finding words that would motivate him to that little extra required to take his performance to the next level.
“It will take you a couple of days. I’ve got to get up to Stonecrest tonight to help them prepare. Plan to leave tomorrow morning. I’ll make all the arrangements, so they know you’re coming. Sure wouldn’t want to you to get shot again or anything.” A twinkle appeared in his eye and a slight smile played around Billy’s mouth as he spoke.
Billy didn’t wait for Stephen to answer. He knew his friend well enough, and handed him the maps and some other documents from his attaché case.
“We’ll meet here, Thursday, at 0700 hours. Try not being late this time, okay?” Now Billy smiled that huge, wide smile Stephen was used to.
With that there was a final rematch of the vise grips, and another bear hug, which couldn’t have lasted long enough.
10:08 AM
Jackie Whitman was a woman of routines. She always spent part of Monday morning planning her week, checking the family calendar, making lists of things to be done, and by the end of the week, everything on the lists was normally done. The entire family’s life was pretty much encompassed in her lists.
On this Monday morning, she sat on the living room couch, finishing her second cup of coffee and giving a final scan of her to-do list. Andy breezed through.
“Mom, I’m headed to Jimmy’s house. Then we’re going to hang out with Cody down near the square for a while. I’ll be home before dinner and—”
Jackie interrupted, “Listen for the sirens—.”
“I know, I know, Mom. If I hear the warning sirens, run home. I promise I will. Love you!” Then he disappeared out the front door.
What about that conversation was normal? thought Jackie. In how many households around the world were parents trying to raise their children in the midst of war? There wasn’t any book or set of guidelines to help a parent know what to do.
If the sirens should sound someday while Carl was at work, or Andy was out with his friends, how would she react? Could she actually give the girls the Option without Carl around? Would she go into a frantic search for Andy? A cold chill ran up her spine at the thought. As surreal as that all sounded, it was their world.
Home should be a safe place. Parents should be able to protect their children. With that, Jackie’s thoughts turned to her home and family. How she loved her home. It had been in her family for at least eight generations. She could trace a family line, and ownership of this home, almost back to the original European colonists.
The land on which the home sat had once been part of a family farm which included a couple of hundred acres and was only five miles from the center of the capital. As the city began to encroach on farmland, Jackie’s great-great-great-grandfather slowly sold off most of the land for housing tracts and other development. His decision to sell the land at a good price and overall good business sense had left the family very wealthy. Each generation which followed had only increased the family assets. In fact, the family’s wealth, and her mother living with them, had been a source of tension between her and Carl more than once.
The home now sat on a little more than three acres of land. The address of 718 Old Plank Road caused Jackie to explain more than once that, centuries ago, some roads were actually built of timber planks, hence the name. The address was the only thing about the home which was less than impressive. While the home was large, it had a simple elegance. She loved to say that some homes screamed money, hers whispered it.
As much as she loved her home, Jackie would trade it in a heartbeat in exchange for the safety of Carl and her three kids. There was Andrew, who had just turned seventeen in May. She hoped he would still be alive at eighteen. Would he live to see another two weeks?
Andrew was tall and beginning to leave the gangly early teen years behind. He was starting to take on many of his dad’s physical traits: jet black hair, cleft chin, and piercing hazel eyes. He loved challenges of all types, both mental and physical. If there was a negative trait about Andrew, it would be his “short fuse.” His temper could flair in a nanosecond.
Then there was eight-year-old Megan. Jackie and Carl thought she was their “surprise.” Born almost nine years after Andrew, Megan was pure joy. Her sweet disposition made her everyone’s favorite. Jackie could count on her for anything; she always wanted to please. Megan was a wonderful big sister to Kelly.
Many middle children resent losing their position as the baby in the family; it didn’t seem to faze Megan at all. She, of all of the children, looked the most like Jackie: straight chestnut brown hair, oval face, and long, slender fingers. Megan also shared Jackie’s passion for the piano. She had a natural gift for music. The two of them could play duets for hours on the family baby grand.
“Mommy,” Kelly called out as she reached the bottom of the stairs and headed toward Jackie. Closely held in Kelly’s right arm was Heddy. While the little bear was actually Teddy, Kelly had problems with “T” sounds when she first learned to speak. She could handle the name Teddy now, but Heddy was the name of choice, even among her siblings and parents. Kelly was a bouncing bundle of energy. She seemed to be everywhere at once, always smiling and laughing. Her joyous giggles could get the entire family to join in the laughter.
As Kelly ran to snuggle against her mommy on the couch, Jackie was reminded that Kelly had been the real surprise. Born a little over three years ago, she certainly hadn’t been planned. Some had questioned the wisdom of giving birth to a child in these terrible times. Mothers had always, as far as they knew, given birth to children in times of war. Jackie and Carl were on the same page, and they would love this child for as long as any of them had breath.
Jackie and Kelly had just gotten comfortable when there was a brief knock at the front door. Without waiting to be invited, Mandy Moore walked in.
“Hi, Jack. Good morning, Kelly. Can we get a cup of coffee?”
There was nothing new about Mandy coming into Jackie’s house without waiting for the door to be answered, or her expecting a cup of coffee. It had been the way their friendship had worked since Mandy, and her husband Glenn, moved in about fifteen years earlier. Glenn had been sent here as part of the US Embassy staff before that. They fell in love with the country and decided to stay.
What was different about today was the look on Mandy’s face. She looked like she was either going to explode or cry, maybe both. Jackie quickly surmised that this was going to be a “patio conversation.” They had talked out some of the most difficult issues in their lives on the patio.
“Hey, Meg,” Jackie called out. “Please come and play with Kelly for a while.”
“Okay, Mom,” Megan quickly responded from another room in the house.
“Kelly, Mommy and Mandy need to talk. We can snuggle more later, okay?”
Kelly nodded in approval. Megan entered the room and took her off for an adventure, like coloring in her big sister’s bedroom.
Mandy and Jackie headed for the patio via the kitchen, not talking to each other. Jackie poured coffee for Mandy and refilled her own cup. From the kitchen, they exited
