Part 2 - Part 11

“Okay, that might work. The county already knows about the base, so it’s not something illegal or something you created. And I bet you the base is still on federal land and no one except the army has jurisdiction. If the army shows up they’ll recognize their mistake, take everything that doesn’t belong there and say nothing. But don’t think for a minute that you won’t be compromised. You may have to move because the next thing the army is going to do is blow up the place. The military loves to do that.”

“Well, I knew some day this was going to happen. I may have to leave this place and go back and live with my grandfather.”

“Have you heard from him lately?”

I didn’t answer his question and walked away. I’d been compromised enough for one day.

I went outside to clear my head. It was sunny and clear but bitterly cold. When I returned Stan said a big storm was coming. He’d heard about it on the radio. I reacted sharply to the news but he said it wouldn’t be here until tomorrow or the day after.

“Is there anything I can do to help out?” I asked. “I need to kill some time before dinner and I don’t want to be in your way.”

“Well, since you’re offering,” he said. “You can clean that filthy car part sitting on the bench. I replaced it this morning with a new one but from the looks of it it’s still good; all it needs is cleaning. I can re-use it but it needs to be degreased. There’s a spray can over there. You’ll probably need a second spray can.”

“Do you have a small metal bucket, some gasoline and some laundry detergent?” I asked.

“Yes, under the counter,” he said and looked at me curiously.

Curious to see what I was going to do, Stan came over and gave me an old metal bucket that he used to wash rags in, a small canister of gasoline used to start cars and an old box of powdered laundry detergent.

“Sorry about the greasy mess on the box. A long time ago I used the detergent to wash my dirty rags,” he said.

But instead of going back to his desk, Stan stood there and watched me with curiosity.

I poured some gasoline into the bucket, added some detergent to it and put the car part into the mix. I then took a paint brush from the shelf, dipped it in the gasoline and rubbed it against the part. I worked it vigorously until the dried grease began to dissolve. I then dipped the brush into the detergent, picked up some and rubbed it into the greasy sludge. I took the part out, put it in the sink and ran hot water over it. The sludge started to wash off. I put the part back in the gasoline and repeated the process a couple of times. Before I was done I rinsed the brush under hot water, sprinkled some detergent over the car part and sponged it over until it lathered. I then ran hot water on the car part, dried it with a clean rag and handed it to Stan.

“I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” he said. “I can’t believe it. It looks as new as if it just came out of the box.”

Oscar came over and said, “All the work is done. Maybe we should start cleaning up. It’s getting close to quitting time.”

Stan put the part in the paper box and put it on the shelf with the new parts. When he saw that I was looking he took his pen and wrote “used” on the box. He then smiled and went to the back to wash up and change his clothes. Oscar was already waiting for us by the door.

Stan took a little longer than we expected and when he came out we noticed he’d shaven. Oscar and I looked at each other. We looked like a couple of bums. I even had dirt on my face on top of my thick stubble.

I drove us to the restaurant. It was quarter to seven when we arrived. We were the first ones there. Stan picked up the box of beer he had stashed in the back of my truck earlier, carried it inside and gave it to Oscar. “It’s from both of us,” he said.

I looked at Oscar wondering if he had started drinking again.

“Don’t worry man; I’m just going to have a couple, no big deal.”

Gloria’s parents had set aside a long table made up of three shorter tables that could sit twelve to fourteen people. There was a great aroma emanating from the kitchen that hit us as we entered the warm and humid restaurant.

Gloria’s mother welcomed us and sat us down. Moments later Stan’s wife and daughters arrived.

“It was too cold to walk,” she told Stan, “so I drove.”

Stan introduced her and the girls to us and asked them to sit down beside him. His wife fussed a bit with the girls, who looked like nine and eleven, and then sat down beside them. Both Oscar and I looked

nervous. Stan sensed that and decided to say something to break the tension.

“See this man here,” he said pointing at me, “Daddy learned something from him today.”

“What’s that Daddy?” asked the little one.

“He showed me how to clean a car part the easy and cheap way.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Stan’s wife said to me. “A few evenings ago we had Oscar over for dinner and all he talked about was you and the things you do for our community.”

“Why thank you Oscar,” I said. “I didn’t know you cared.”

“I don’t!” he said.

“Did you know that your husband offered me a job today?” I asked her.

“No! What to clean greasy car parts?” she asked and laughed.

“No, to do his paperwork and keep his books,” I replied.

“And how much is he paying you?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t know, I haven’t taken the job yet but it’s not about the money. It’s about the distance I have to travel. It’s not worth it for me to travel all the way from the base for just a few hours of work. He tells me he needs someone with experience in finances but I don’t know anyone with that kind of experience. Plus the weather gets so bad out here sometimes; I don’t think it’s safe for me to drive.”

“Did he put you up to this?” she asked.

“Nope,” I replied.

“Look, honey, I can do that for you. Just bring your paperwork home and show me what to do and I’ll do it for you. I don’t mind.”

“Before you accept, negotiate your salary. Don’t work for free,” I said jokingly.

They all laughed.

“I will,” she said.

Moments later Fred, Olivia and Agnes arrived. Olivia sat next to me and said, “You’ll have to tell me more about those Italian girls. You didn’t finish telling me everything earlier.”

Just about then Joe, his wife and three girls showed up at the door. Joe remarked how cold it was and then introduced his wife and three daughters. His wife looked aged like him, weathered down by the elements but his oldest daughter looked remarkable. She had a strong body and a beautiful face. Both Oscar and I were staring at her like we hadn’t seen a woman before.

Joe must have noticed and said, “This here is the pillar of our farm, she does practically everything. Her mother and I are getting old and aren’t what we used to be and if it wasn’t for her I don’t know how we would have survived. Plenty-a-men have come around but didn’t stay, farm work is hard. We haven’t been able to find a man for her. Perhaps you fellows might be interested?”

She was about my age but had a face and figure that were remarkably attractive. She looked at me and said, “Don’t mind my pop, he’s just looking out for me. I could find a fellow if I wanted, but I have my obligations.”

I didn’t say anything and neither did Oscar.

There was a considerable age difference between the first daughter and the other two. I looked at them and they too were beautiful but much younger than the first one. The older daughter must have sensed what I was thinking so she said, “If you’re thinking about the difference in our age, those two are legit… I’m a lovechild.”

“It’s true,” said Joe. “She sure is a lovechild.”

At about the same time Gloria’s dad came over and said the food was ready to be served.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything but right now is not a good time for us. I’ll bring a lamb in the spring and we can roast it,” Joe suggested.

“What will you have to drink? We have beer and white wine,” Gloria’s mother said.

All the men said beer. The women said white wine.

The farmer’s wife and older daughter stood up and went to help. The older daughter then waved at her sisters and they went into the kitchen. They brought a plate of fish for each of us. The older daughter brought the beer and wine. Their mother brought orange juice for the four younger girls.

The fish was prepared well. It was broiled with slices of lemon on top. It was good but not as good as Rosa’s. I didn’t say anything other than compliment the chef on how good it tasted.

When we finished eating the fish, Gloria’s mother served us pie with ice cream. This was the first time Joe’s younger girls spoke, remarking on how good the pie tasted with ice cream.

“This is a restaurant dear, they make all kinds of nice things here,” their mother explained.

Joe again mentioned the military base and wanted to know if I had eaten any of the meat he’d supplied and how it tasted after being frozen for years. I told him I ate it practically every day and it was okay. It wasn’t damaged in any way and it had no peculiar taste.

“That’s because it was wrapped well and frozen fresh. Nowadays they let the meat drain and cure, sitting for days in refrigerators and then they freeze it, transport it, sometimes in refrigerators, freeze it

again, let it thaw and sell it as fresh. Sometimes they add food coloring to make it look as fresh as if it was just cut. Sometimes they add preservatives. Well, I’m glad it’s still good which tells me I did the right thing.”

With those words, Joe dropped his serviette and said, “A farmer’s work is never done. We got to get going, thank you folks for the great dinner. Come on girls.” They all got up, smiled and left.

“What a peculiar family,” remarked Agnes. “I bet you his girls were home schooled. And look at the difference in age between the first daughter and the other two.”

We were all thinking the same thing but pretended to be shocked when Agnes said that.

Olivia gave her a look.

Agnes looked at her and said, “Oh, don’t give me that look. I can say what I want. I’m a crazy old lady. And besides nobody cares what I say. The know-it-all girls at the bank sure don’t care. They look at me like I’m some sort of alien from another world. They’ll get old too, just watch and see, and they’ll forget things… The fish, by the way, was superb, thanks to the cook and to my grandson the fisherman.”

“Mother? You’re drunk,” remarked Olivia.

“And the wine was superb dear,” Agnes said and drank the remaining wine in her glass in one gulp.

Stan’s girls kept looking at Agnes. His wife looked nervous.

She looked at Stan and said, “It’s getting kind of late, I should take the girls home.”

“I’ll come with you. I don’t have my car here so I need a ride.” Stan thanked Gloria’s mom and dad for the wonderful dinner and me for the fish and, after they all said goodnight, left.

Olivia was about to say something to her mother but I squeezed her hand and she backed off.

Fred spoke up and said, “We’d best go too, we need to take Agnes home.”

Olivia whispered in my ear. “Best not to say anything when she’s drunk like that because one never knows what she might say?”

They also got up and left.

“Man, what just happened?” Oscar asked, looking at me.

“Nothing happened. We’re all people with different peculiarities which sometimes get in the way of our socializing. That’s all,” I replied.

“Are we still friends?” he asked.

“You and I say all sorts of things to each other and we’re still friends, right?”

“You’re right man. I tend to over think things.”

“We should go too. These people have been on their feet all day working hard. But before we go we should offer to clean up,” I said. Oscar agreed.

When Gloria’s mother came back Oscar asked her what we could do to help clean up the place. She told us to put the empties away, which amounted to two beer bottles and one wine bottle, and put the full bottles in the fridge. Then, while Oscar took the dirty plates back to the kitchen I mopped up the floor, separated the tables and put them in their original places.

After that we thanked our hosts for the food and said good night. On the way out Gloria’s mom gave us each a hug.

It was bitterly cold outside and the weather was getting ugly. Oscar suggested I take him home to the service station and go straight home to the base. I agreed.

The drive was treacherous but I was familiar with the road and made it back safely.

I immediately went to the fireplace and started a fire; not because it was cold but more for my comfort. I got my bottle of rakia out and drank while thinking about the things that had transpired at the restaurant. I watched the flames dance as I drank.

I found it difficult to live without people and awkward to live with them. I often wondered why that was.

I got up the next day with a headache. I realized I hadn’t drunk much water. I nursed the headache sitting inside by one of the windows watching the snow fall and the bitter wind whirl it around.

It snowed on and off for the next five days.

It stopped snowing on the sixth day so I decided to call Oscar and see how he was doing. He wasn’t there. No one answered the telephone. I called Fred, no one was there either. I called the restaurant, same thing.

I decided to call Gloria. Thank God her school answered the phone and put me in touch.

I asked her if she knew what was happening. She told me there was a power outage in town. Some sort of accident had taken out both the electrical grid and telephone lines. I asked her how everyone was coping without electricity. She told me they were probably at Joe’s farm. Joe had a wood stove and a fireplace.

I felt good after talking to Gloria. It was nice to hear her voice after being isolated and alone on the base. She sounded more mature and confident. It seemed she had lost some of her shyness, but not her humility.

I felt anxious after I hung up. I couldn’t sit around any longer so I got dressed in my usual winter gear and went to start the beast. It started without problems but I noticed I hadn’t filled its tank with diesel fuel.

I drove it to the pumps and about half an hour later the tank was full to the top. That should last me a while, I thought and then drove off into town. I took my time driving along the back road and made sure the snowdrifts were cleared. The beast was a powerful machine and capable of moving mountains of snow.

Three and a half hours later I was in town. Nothing was open. I drove around looking for someone to ask how to get to Joe’s farm. There was no one around. I then saw a young lady wrapped in a blanket looking outside from her living room window. The moment she saw me she ran outside and asked me where everyone was. She said she’d arrived in town a few hours ago and found it a ghost town. I asked her how she had gotten here. She said she drove, the highway was cleared of snow but there was a giant avalanche along the adjacent hill which swept down all the hydro and telephone poles. That’s what the snow removal crew working on the road had told her.

I asked her if she knew where Joe’s farm was. She said she did and was willing to take me there.

I helped her board the beast’s cab and she remarked how warm it was inside. She took the blanket and her coat off and set them on one of the seats. She was a young and beautiful girl. I estimated she was younger than me.

She came over, shook my hand and said, “I’m Emily.”

“I’m Peter, nice to meet you Emily,” and then asked how she knew where Joe’s farm was.

“Joe’s wife and my mother are sisters.”

“Wow, what a small world,” I said. “So, you and Joe’s daughters are first cousins, are you close?”

“I was close with his oldest daughter when we were young but then I moved out of town to work and lost contact. I usually see my family during holidays when I come to town. I came back to spend Christmas with my parents but I don’t know what’s going to happen now without electricity.”

She sat down beside me as we slowly drove down a country road plowing the snow as we moved along.

She stood up, pointed and said, “This is my Uncle Joe’s farm.”

I took a wide sweep over the bridge to make sure I didn’t hit the sides and parked the beast in Joe’s front yard.

Emily jumped out and ran towards the front door where she was greeted by a pile of people. It looked like the entire town was there.

Oscar ran over and said, “You’ve got to take these people to the base. We’re packed like rats in here. We won’t be able to last too long.”

“Let’s load them up on the beast. I can pack about twenty-four in here,” I said.

“There are more than that here,” he said.

“Then I’ll have to come back,” I replied.

“What if you plow the road? If you do that they can drive themselves to the base.”

“I’ve already plowed the road all the way from the base to here,” I said.

“I’ll speak to them and get them to go to the base on their own. I’ll also speak to Stan and we can organize a convoy for those who don’t know where the base is.”

“Get them to bring food, clothing and bedding material. Also, whoever doesn’t have a ride, can ride with me in the beast. I’ll go back to the base and wait for you there.”

Oscar went back inside and a pile of women and children came out and climbed on board. Emily, her parents and brother, Joe’s wife and three daughters and a whole bunch of other women and children I didn’t know got on. Emily sat beside me again and I asked her to keep the children quiet and entertained. There was a lot of chatter and the women asked a lot of questions. I asked Emily why Joe didn’t come with us. She said he had to stay here and look after the farm animals but he was going to be okay.

When Emily was busy with the children Joe’s oldest daughter came over, sat down beside me and said, “You have a mighty powerful machine. What do you call it?”

“I call it the beast,” I replied.

“Why?” she asked.

I pressed on the gas hard and it roared like a beast. “That’s why,” I said.

When Emily saw her cousin talking to me she called her over and asked her to help with the children.

“I think my little cousin likes you,” she said, “and she’s jealous of me being around you.”

“Do you think so?” I asked. “I just met her today.”

“Well, it’s not you, it’s me. She’s always been in competition with me.”

“Are you sure about that? You’re family and you shouldn’t be in competition. Also you’re adults now…” I said and smiled.

She left and went to see what her cousin wanted.

As soon as she left another young woman came over with her infant in her arms.

“Is it going to be much longer? I need to breast feed my baby,” she said.

“I’m sorry dear,” I said. “The trip will take three hours but I see no reason why you can’t breast feed your baby right here and now?”

“Well I don’t want people to think I’m some sort of weirdo exposing my breasts in public.”

“Just sit here beside me and feed your baby,” I said. “If anyone complains I’ll toss them of the bus.”

She thanked me, whipped out her enormous breast and shoved it in the baby’s mouth.

When she was done she thanked me again and went back to her seat.

Emily’s cousin came back and asked me if I had enjoyed that and I asked her what she meant by ‘that’.

“I know men love large breasts. I just wanted to know if you liked it.”

I didn’t know what to say so I said, “For God’s sake, she’s a mother with a baby that needed feeding. What was I supposed to say?” I then made the mistake of looking at her chest.

I would have to say this was the most unusual trip I’d ever taken but finally we had arrived at the base.

I drove the beast inside the underground parking lot and left the big door open. I escorted everyone into the big room and sat the women around the big table. I then took Emily and her cousin to the kitchen and showed them where the dishes and ice cream were. They brought ice cream for everyone. I showed the mothers where the washrooms were and the beds they would sleep in. It was chaos

everywhere but Emily and her cousin seemed to have a handle on the children.

I needed a drink badly.

“Does anyone feel like a drink?” I asked.

Several women nodded including Emily and her cousin.

I went down to the kitchen, got a bottle of rakia and about half a dozen juice glasses. After I sat down I filled them a quarter full and said, “Ladies help yourselves.”

Emily tried it and made a face.

I then realized that these women had never had a drink like this before so I said, “Ladies, take it easy with this stuff, it’s really strong. Sip it slowly.”

Emily’s father and a couple of other men wanted to try it too so I sent Emily to get more glasses from the kitchen.

By then the first cars began to arrive, among which were Oscar, Stan and his family, Gloria’s mom and dad and Fred, Olivia and Agnes.

Oscar told me that he and Stan had informed other people about the base and had invited them to come up.

Oscar then went back and asked those who had come with him to bring their things in and find a place in the building to set up for the night. Those who had brought food he asked to put it in the refrigerators or in an appropriate place.

Not many brought food. They couldn’t prepare anything without electricity and we hadn’t told them that we had a kitchen where they could cook their food.

I put Emily’s cousin in charge of coordinating things around the kitchen. I asked Emily to find space for people to sleep. She gave the beds to mothers with babies and to the older people.

I took Gloria’s mom and dad and showed them the kitchen with the ovens, stoves, grills, fryers, walk-in freezers and big walk-in fridges. They were quite impressed and told me that they knew how to use every piece of equipment.

I then asked them to prepare dinner for about sixty people and ask for help if they needed it.

I was going out of my mind trying to do everything for everyone but then Agnes pulled me to the side and told me to stop fretting.

“Sit down and have a drink with me,” she said.

She wanted to know where I’d gotten the rakia so I told her she’d have to speak to Oscar, that he and Peter Sr. had gotten it from somewhere.

“It’s good stuff,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind getting some for myself.”

She then yelled at Emily’s cousin and asked her to bring something greasy to eat from the kitchen.

When Emily’s cousin came back with a bunch of fried breakfast sausages I grabbed her by the hand and said, “I’m sorry but I don’t know your name.”

She smiled and said, “I’m Sylvia.”

“Thank you for the sausages and for everything you’re doing. And, by the way, I’m Peter.”

“I knew that,” she replied.

Agnes piped up and said, “This is my grandson you know. This is his place.”

More people started to arrive and Sylvia and Emily escorted them in, put away the food they’d brought and found a place for them to sleep.

Oscar, who was keeping count, said we had about sixty people and that should be it. We’d gotten everyone settled and dinner would be served in about half an hour.

Agnes asked him about the rakia and he went and got her a bottle and told her to hide it. She was sleeping with Olivia in one of the rooms, so she hid it there. Fred was sleeping in the waiting area by himself.

When Oscar got back I asked him if he had any ideas about how we were going to entertain all these people. He suggested we get the television working. That way we could get the news, TV programs, movies and even sports.

Since he had installed the television for Peter, I suggested he get it working.

Minutes later we had television, but only local channels.

After that Oscar built a fire and had most of the old people sitting around it.

Agnes refused to let me do anything and kept me sitting with her drinking and eating greasy sausages. When Olivia saw me glued to her mother she came over and told her to let me go.

To my surprise she did. “Go and talk to one of those beautiful girls over there,” Olivia said, pointing at Sylvia and Emily.

“Yes mother,” I said out loud and left.

Emily who was watching us overheard our conversation and came over. “Is she really your mother? You have such a young mom.”

“She’s my step mom,” I said. “She was my father’s wife.”

At about the same time I heard Gloria’s mother calling. I went downstairs to see what she wanted. Emily followed me. Sylvia said dinner was ready and they needed volunteers to deliver the plates and asked Emily to gather everyone at the big table.

I went back up and got Olivia to gather some of the younger people to help the kitchen staff deliver the food to the big table. Sylvia took control and had everyone hopping.

About ten minutes later the food was delivered and everyone was sitting around the table. Unbeknownst to me we had the town’s mayor and his family as guests. Stan spoke to me privately and said that the mayor wanted to say a few words and asked if it was okay.

After I said yes, no problem, I thought to myself that this guy is the mayor and when he finds out this is a base God knows what he might do.

So, in his speech, after introducing himself he spoke about the power outage and how he was working very hard to coordinate county resources to restore power so that people could return to their homes by Christmas day, which was three days away. When he was done he thanked me for opening the base to the general public while the emergency lasted. He then spoke about the history of the base which he had learned from his grandfather. His grandfather was a young man when he served in the army and trained on this base. He also thanked me for maintaining the building and the memories of the fallen soldiers with this great display of military flags, symbols, uniforms, guns and ammunition.

Everyone turned their heads to look at the big displays. I too looked at them with admiration which, until that moment, I had been taking for granted.

Everyone then turned their heads and looked at me. I smiled sheepishly and bowed my head slightly.

Dinner was noisy, plentiful and good. Everyone was talking but quietly. Emily and Sylvia had good control of the children at the far

end of the table. They were able to relieve the mothers so that they could eat in peace.

The rakia I had drunk with Agnes earlier had worked on me and I felt calm and relaxed.

The girls got ice cream for the children and for some of the women. Agnes opted for ice cream instead of rakia. I looked at her.

She whispered and said, “I’m already plastered, if I drink any more it will put me to sleep. Besides I want to know what the ladies are gossiping about.”

When everyone was done eating they started leaving the big table and sitting in small groups around the smaller tables in the lower part of the big room. I saw Gloria’s mom get up and start to collect the dishes. I went over to her and told her that she didn’t have to do that. She had done enough for everyone already.

She looked at me with teary eyes and said, “Thank you, God bless you.”

After that I didn’t have to say anything. Gloria’s mom went and sat with Olivia while Sylvia and Emily summoned the older boys and girls and gave them their first lesson in clearing tables and washing dishes. Not a single dish was broken.

As I watched the boys and girls go up and down the stairs carrying dishes, Sylvia came over and said, “Thanks for the opportunity. I always wanted to be a leader. Also thank you for allowing me to get closer to my dear cousin.”

“You’re welcome. And thank you for your help. So, you’re telling me you solved the ‘boy’ problem with your cousin?”

“Yes, as long as I keep my hands off you. We agreed that you’re off limits to both of us.”

“So, let me understand this, you both want me but none can have me?”

She made a clicking sound with her mouth, smiled, winked and said, “That’s correct!” She then went down to the kitchen to see what was going on.

After Oscar went and brought rakia and glasses for those who wanted to drink, he sat down in front of the fireplace and stared at the flames.

I went and sat beside him and said, “At the rate you’re giving it away I won’t have any left?”

He knew what I was talking about and said, “You don’t need it, and you’re better off without it. I just don’t know what I saw in it. It almost ruined my life.”

I pat him on the back with my open hand.

He looked at me and said, “I should be with my own people at home in the village. I miss them very much.”

“Me too,” I said, “I should be home with my grandparents,” while seriously considering leaving this place and going back to Toronto. I felt like telling Oscar everything but that would have been selfish on my part, putting his safety in jeopardy. I had to figure this out on my own first before I told Oscar. I figured he was the only person I could trust.

The base seemed to take on a life of its own with the chatter of children. With Sylvia and Emily on duty the place worked like a well-oiled machine. In the meantime both Oscar and I kept staring at the flames while sitting in front of the fireplace...

We followed the same routine for the next two days.

Early on the third day, Christmas day, I heard a loud roar coming from the big room. I ran down through the stage and heard the television blaring. The reporter said electricity had been restored in town.

The mayor called everyone to the big room so that he could make an announcement. He stood on the stage and told everyone that they had two choices, they could leave now and go home, or they could stay here and spend Christmas and have their Christmas meal in the base.

A younger child, a little girl yelled, “Will there be pie with ice cream, I like pie with ice cream.”

Everyone laughed out loud.

The mayor looked at me. I shook my head “yes”.

“Yes, little girl, there will be pie with ice cream.”

All the children began to cheer.

The mayor then said, “The children have spoken. It’s unanimous, we’re staying here”

No one objected.

The mayor then came over to me and Oscar and asked, “Can we pull this off?”

“We don’t have any pies,” I said.

“Do you have a phone?” he asked.

Without thinking at all I said, “Yes, up here.”

I escorted him through the stage and into the office.

“Nice tank!” he remarked before he started dialing.

I went outside to give him some privacy but the mayor spoke so loud I could hear him in the garage.

He called the local baker, a relative of his, and asked him if he wanted to make some easy money. He asked him to bring everything he had.

“Bring enough pastries like pies, cakes, sweet buns, Christmas bread, as well as ice cream and cream for coffee for about sixty people and deliver it to the old military base at the quarry,” he said. He told the man to also bring his family there to celebrate Christmas with him.

At the end he told the man that the mayor’s office was going to pay for everything from the township’s emergency fund.

When we returned to the big room the mayor made an announcement and told the people that the pies and ice cream were coming and they were a donation from him.

There were cheers, especially from the children

I didn’t say anything.

When I came back and sat next to Oscar all I could hear was the commotion coming from the kitchen. Everyone was hard at work preparing our Christmas dinner.

“They’re busy cooking our Christmas dinner,” said Oscar. “They’ve apparently got the fryer working and are making French fries. I don’t know what oil they’re using but you won’t have any left by the time they’re done. You won’t have any food either. And don’t tell me it’s okay because it’s Christmas.”

“It’s Christmas!” I said. “What, you’ve got something against Christmas?”

“They’ll eat your food and you’ll never hear from them again, especially from the mayor. You watch and see, the headlines will say mayor saves Christmas and your name, your contribution, those burning over the hot stoves won’t be mentioned. Not even the names of the beautiful girls doing the hard work.”

“What, you don’t like the mayor?” I asked.

“No I don’t. He mistreated me and then had the nerve to look me in the eye. That bastard waited until it started raining and sent the cops on me to evict me from under the bridge. He did that to me several times and left me out in the rain to get wet and cold. He’s not a nice person and I don’t like him.”

“Just give it a few more hours and it will all be over,” I said.

“I guess you’re right,” he replied and we both went back to watching the flames in the fireplace.

About an hour later farmer Joe arrived with the baker.

“It smells mighty nice in here,” he yelled out loud. His two younger daughters ran over to greet him. His older daughter, looking reserved, also greeted him.

“I’m looking for volunteers to bring the pies and ice cream up here. Do I have any?” Joe yelled with a big smile.

Every child yelled, “Me, me, me…”

Sylvia and Emily rounded up the usual suspects and sent them to the indoor parking lot to bring the goodies to the kitchen.

I grabbed Sylvia by the arm and said, “Please make sure everything is washed, cleaned and put back in its place before you leave. Make sure the beds are made with clean sheets. Leave the used sheets and towels outside the rooms. Thank you.”

She gave me two thumbs up and ran outside.

I went and sat with Oscar again staring at the flames until they called us for lunch.

And Oscar was right, the mayor took over everything and everything that was done he made sound like it was his contribution and his idea. Only Sylvia and Agnes looked repulsed by his attitude. I was

so turned off I didn’t even listen to what he had to say during his Christmas dinner speech.

As soon as we finished eating, Oscar and I went back to the fireplace. Oscar added more firewood and watched me cringe looking at the good old boys and girls whooping it up, drinking all my booze and eating all my food like it was theirs.

Oscar was right, it was Christmas but I was livid. I told myself to be patient and this too would soon be over.

People began to leave and never bothered to say thank you or goodbye.

When the mayor and his family left Oscar came alive again and came up and sat at the big table. Our old friends joined us and, to my surprise, Stan apologized for how the mayor had acted but said he had no choice in what he did if he wanted to keep his service station operational.

Agnes piped up and said, “Someone ought to put a bullet in his head. I see you have enough guns here. I’ll do it.”

I looked at her surprised.

“Well, didn’t she tell you? He came on to my Olivia and then denied the whole thing calling her a liar.”

“I remember that,” said Fred. “I saw him forcing himself on her and I went in to help her. He threatened me too. I told him she was my friend but he didn’t care. He told me to keep my mouth shut if I wanted to stay alive. Now he walks around like that never happened! Who invited him here anyway?”

“He invited himself,” said Joe. “He invited himself to my place even though he’d made a move on my daughter. She was home alone during one of his campaigns and he tried to force himself on her. Good thing I arrived when I did. I told him I would shoot his ass full of salt if he ever showed up here again but then here he was with his whole family.

Emily’s mother asked to be excused. “We need to check on our home and make sure the water pipes didn’t burst,” she said and asked Joe if he would drive them home.

“I can only take six in my van,” he said.

Emily and Sylvia said they’d hitch a ride with me so Joe took his wife, two daughters and Emily’s mother, father and brother.

Olivia, Fred and Agnes thanked us for everything and wished us Merry Christmas and they too left.

Stan’s wife and daughters were also getting anxious and wanted to go home so both Oscar and I said we understood and told Stan to go.

After everyone had left I told the girls my truck could only hold three so one of them would have to sit on either my lap or Oscar’s.

They had a good laugh. Oscar wasn’t amused with my nonsense.

Emily said, “I’ll drive and Sylvia can sit on your lap or his,” pointing at Oscar. Oscar looked at her and she quickly apologized.

“What’s with you girls?” I asked. “What’s with the rivalry over men?”

Sylvia said, “I love her like a sister but I don’t understand her.”

Emily said, “Look at her, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Every time she came around my boyfriend would go wild over her and would want her. I hated that.”

“Well, how is that her fault?” I asked Emily.

Oscar piped up and said, “All of you please grow up. Blood is always thicker than water. Your cousin is far more important to you than any jerk that comes along. And you,” he said loudly pointing to Emily, “do you think those jerks care about you? If they did they wouldn’t have looked at other women. They are simply selfish jerks

not worth your time. You are a beautiful and smart woman and you should be way past that nonsense. Your cousin is your kin and you should love her and not see her as your rival.”

“Oscar, take it easy man,” I said. “The girls are just having fun.”

“He’s right,” said Emily. “I admit I’ve been a jerk too. Look at Sylvia here, she has sacrificed her life looking after her family when she could have married any man she wanted and I, I’ve got the nerve to disrespect her. Now that I think about it, it sickens me.”

“Dear ladies, I’m too tired to have a philosophical discussion with you so please, allow me to drive you home. It’ll be a little tight for the four of us in the truck but we’re friends. If you want to take something from the left over stuff or do something before we go please do it and let’s go.”

“No, we don’t need to take anything, we ate enough to last us a couple of days,” said Sylvia. Emily agreed.

We then got into my truck and I took them to town. We dropped Oscar off first, then Emily and then Sylvia.

Sylvia jokingly said, “I would invite you in but my parents are home.” She then said, “Please drop by sometime and take me out to dinner or even to a movie.” And with that she walked away.

I drove back to the base. It was late in the evening when I arrived.

The next day I spent cleaning and doing laundry.

Weathering the winter blues

The weather turned bad after I returned from town on Christmas day. I did everything I could to keep busy. I even watched television but wasn’t happy with the crap they put on. Television could be a powerful teaching tool. One could teach people what’s really essential instead of forcing on them things they don’t want or need and make them watch unrealistic things that have less to do with life or improving lives and more to do with promoting commercial products and corporate agendas.

Television has become, or maybe it always has been, a tool for selling products and dummying down people instead of making them smarter. Almost everything they try to do on television they claim is for me. Almost everything they say to me is about me. How do they know that? They don’t even know me.

They say it’s my weather, my news, my entertainment… Did I ask for it? No! So, how is it mine? Why is it for me?

They say it’s for me but they only show me what they want to show me. What about the stuff I want to see and know?

I often argue with the television but it doesn’t help, it still does what it feels like. It’s insensitive to my needs and I find that offensive. That’s why I watch it as little as possible.

Even when I watch the news they only tell me what happened, what someone did. But I want to know why, why did that someone do that. Television rarely ever tells me that.

They say a husband killed his wife. They say when he did it, where he did it and how he did it, but rarely do they say why he did it. I want to know why he did it. What was his motive, his reason for doing it? If that was made known other women could avoid the same thing happening to them, maybe.

Unfortunately television tends to omit that. Why? I don’t know why!

There are so many channels and if properly employed each channel could teach different things. You could have one channel with a teacher teaching math, another teaching geography, another teaching science, history, culture, languages, cooking and so on. Difficult subjects in school could be taught over the airwaves so that children who have difficulty learning in school could learn them. They could be made simpler if taught by an expert on television. Things about Canada, important things, the kinds of things new immigrants need to learn could be taught on television.

But no, the most important thing we learn from television is how to buy products we don’t need and spend money we don’t have.

If I sound angry it’s because I am. Television is an idiot box. But I have to admit, no one forced me to watch it, I did that on my own. Enough about the television!

In my boredom I drank a lot of rakia. I then thought about my liver. I thought about all the women I had met, my opportunities to live with one of them…

The funny thing about being alone is the more isolated I became the more I wanted to be isolated. My anxiety about meeting someone grew higher as I became lonelier. I wondered how people coped with loneliness and how they managed living alone. Unfortunately I never heard them talk about that on television.

I regularly went to the shooting range and fired a few shots. My aim didn’t seem to improve. It was like trying to play the guitar without being able to read music and with no one to show me how to pick the strings. Everything I did sounded wrong.

I went fishing on a regular basis and became sick of eating fish.

I found the telephone wire I promised Oscar I’d look for but I hadn’t told him about it yet. I felt depressed and I didn’t want to talk to anyone or have anyone know that I was depressed.

I called my friends less and less. Besides, they were all busy with their jobs. I called Gloria regularly but, it’s seemed, it was always

the wrong time. She had a nice, soothing voice. I liked listening to her, even for a short time. She seemed to have integrated well into school life and I didn’t want to distract her from it so I tended to listen far more than I talked. I spent most of the night on New Year’s Eve on the phone with her. I hoped it was okay and I that I hadn’t imposed on her too much. She told me she would stay on the telephone until someone came to use it. No one wanted to use the telephone on New Year’s Eve. At busy times each student was allowed only fifteen minutes.

I told her many things about the base during our conversation and promised to take her for a tour when she came back to town. She told me her mom had told her about the big kitchen and how impressed she was with it.

“My poor mom, that’s all she knows about in this world. I feel sorry for her.”

Gloria was nice and I hoped she’d stay that way.