Part 2 - Part 04

“Don’t you worry about that,” replied Agnes and asked me to stay for lunch.

“How about I take you out to lunch at the restaurant near the bank? My treat!” I said.

The two women looked at each other and smiled. Olivia grabbed me again and gave me another big hug.

By the time the two were ready to go it was way past lunch time. I could never understand what women did to get ready and why they took so long. I drove them to the restaurant with Olivia sitting tightly against me in the truck.

When we arrived we were escorted to our table by the same young waitress I had met a week ago. She was thrilled to see me. Agnes piped up and said, “This is my grandson Peter and he is treating us today. What’s good to eat here?”

The waitress told Agnes, whom she recognized from the bank, that we had met a last week and wondered where I had been all these years. Agnes told her that I had been with my father in another part of the country.

After the young waitress gave us a menu Agnes asked her for a drink. The young lady said she couldn’t serve us drinks in the restaurant and that we would have to go to the bar for that. She then waved at the bartender. When he came over he recognized Agnes from the bank and immediately brought us a beer each and said it was on the house.

I looked at Agnes and she looked back at me and said, “I’m everybody’s favourite lady, you know, because I have done so many favours.”

“And here I thought I was the only scoundrel in town,” I said.

She smiled. I felt like we had finally made a connection.

We had a wonderful meal. After Agnes and Olivia started to walk out of the restaurant I left a ten dollar tip for our waitress and walked out.

I took the two women home and had a couple of slices of the delicious cherry pie they had baked. After that we had coffee and I left. Olivia escorted me to the truck and gave me a long kiss on the mouth. I felt for her loss but I wasn’t the Peter she craved. I didn’t have the heart to say anything. It was nice to be loved but not because of someone else.

I said goodbye and left.

Poor Olivia.

Meeting Fred the variety store owner

After spending some time reading Peter’s diary I came to the conclusion that Peter was killed for telling Olivia his story. Even though she didn’t believe him she unintentionally kept spreading it around. This violated intergalactic rules. So, something had to be done. It would appear that at first the aliens tried to erase his memory but that was unsuccessful because Peter kept leaving clues for himself to remind him of things. So they had to kill him.

I have no idea why they left the notepad in his desk drawer and why they didn’t destroy his diary. Perhaps they didn’t know about them?

When I came along they found it convenient to give me Peter’s identity. Unfortunately it wasn’t well thought out. I don’t know if this was intentional or if the aliens weren’t as informed about earth people as they thought. I would tend to believe the first. This may have been intentional and an attempt by the rats to finally get rid of me once and for all and make it look like it was my own fault.

My handlers gave me the identity of a man who was much older than me. Didn’t they know that? Or were they hoping that I’d be discovered and charged with identity theft and the death of Peter James. They also told me that Agnes was half blind, which wasn’t true.

It was now time to face Fred the variety store owner and see what surprises lurked around him.

I looked through the information I had in the office but couldn’t find anything on Fred. I had no idea what he looked like, even though I had seen his photograph, or where his store was.

On Sunday, the day after I visited Agnes and Olivia, I drove into town and looked around in hopes of finding Fred’s store but had no luck. Besides, almost every store in town was closed on Sunday. I decided to come back on a working day.

When I got back to the base I remembered Olivia saying that Peter had done some fishing in the quarry. I had also personally seen fish

in the water in the lower tunnel. Now the question was where did Peter hide his fishing gear?

I spent most of Sunday and Monday going through the various cabinets in the base until I found the fishing gear. Tuesday morning after breakfast I was out at the quarry sitting on a big rock casting my fishing rod. It reminded me of my younger days when my friends and I used to go fishing for carp in the Trent Canal on summer weekends. I used to love going fishing with them. But, it seems, my experience here was not the same, it was far too boring and dreary. It lacked good company and a lot of beer, I figured.

After spending the entire day fishing with artificial bait I caught nothing. Early the next day I went down to the garden with a shovel and unearthed a dozen or so earthworms. I used them for bait. I caught my first fish in a matter of minutes which got my hopes up. By noon I had caught four fish. I kept the first two for myself and decided to take the other two, the bigger ones, to Agnes and Olivia. I figured I would go and deliver the fish and ask them if they knew Fred. And, perhaps, they would point me in the right direction. It was almost evening when I finished cleaning and seasoned the fish.

I arrived at Agnes’s house, uninvited, at about six-thirty in the evening and rang the doorbell. Olivia came to the door and opened it. She gave me a big hug and then took the fish from my hand. I asked her if she knew Fred from the variety store but before she had a chance to say something Agnes yelled from the back, “What could you possibly want with that louse?”

Olivia grabbed my hand and tried to pull me in.

“I’m sorry I can’t stay I have things to do, perhaps another time?” I said.

I then heard Agnes say, “He’s in the same plaza where I work, a couple of doors to the left of the barber shop, you can’t miss him.” She then yelled at Olivia, “Leave the young man alone and come back here.”

After Olivia gave me another big kiss on the mouth she said, “That woman has eyes in the back of her head,” and waved goodbye.

After I left I drove around the plaza and found “Fred’s smoke shop”. It was already closed. I checked the hours when it was open and decided to come back the next day.

When I got back to the base I fried my fish in olive oil. They were delicious even without lemon juice.

I decided I needed to buy a few things and began a shopping list. I wrote down beer, wine and lemons.

After I ate my dinner I climbed up the stairs to the big room and stared at the nicely arranged uniforms behind the glass windows. They must have meant a lot to those who had put them up, I thought. I turned around and looked at the giant television on the far wall and wondered if it still worked. It must have been put there recently, probably by Peter James. Televisions didn’t come out until the early 1950’s.

I then walked up over the stage and into the garage. I went inside the office and to the back room. This is where Peter James slept. I looked under his bed, one place where I hadn’t looked before. There were a couple of cardboard boxes under it. I was curious as to what was in them. I pulled one out and opened it. There were two telephone books, the kind Bell used to deliver to the houses back in Toronto. I thought that was strange given I had never seen a telephone at the base. I pulled out the second box. It had a telephone inside. It was a black desk top model. It looked new.

I pulled it out. It had a cord with a funny plug at the end. I looked around the room for a place to plug it in. There was nothing. I checked the date on the phone books, they were from 1969. I went out to the office and looked around. There was no funny socket anywhere. I pulled the desk back away from the window and found the socket. It was at the bottom near the floor.

“So, here is where Peter plugged in the phone… probably to talk to Olivia when they were dating,” I said to myself. But why hide it under his bed? And more importantly, who was he hiding it from?

I was curious if the phone still worked. I had my doubts but I tried it anyway. I put the set on the table and plugged it in. I picked up the receiver and to my surprise, it still worked. I got a dial tone. So, now I had a telephone but who was I going to call?

It was getting very late so I decided to sleep in Peter’s old bed. I washed my hands in the tiny sink in the tiny washroom to get rid of the dirt. I then shook the sheets to get rid of the dust and went to bed. Surprisingly the dust in the air disappeared quickly. The base had an excellent ventilation system.

The next day I got up and I don’t know why, but the first thing I did was try the telephone to see if it still worked. It did. I then went back to the safe and looked at the bank statements. I was curious to see if there were telephone bills on them. There were none. So, why was the phone still working? It looked like a phone from the 1960’s so it couldn’t have been installed by the army. So the question is who installed it and why was it still working?

I figured Peter must have installed the cable and connected it to a telephone company line used for emergency purposes.

After I had breakfast I decided to go and see Fred. I parked in front of his store and walked in. Fred was standing behind the counter. There was no one else in the store.

I said, “Good morning Fred, how are you?”

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“I’m Peter James,” I answered.

“No you’re not! That truck out there belongs to Peter James but you aren’t him.”

“It’s a long story,” I said.

“If you’re Peter James then tell me how much did you owe me when you skipped out on your tab five years ago?”

“It’s hard to say and, as you said, it was five years ago.”

He pulled out an old book from under the counter, flipped a few pages and said, “You owe me for one hundred packs of Players cigarettes. That’s two hundred dollars.”

“First of all, you sold me Rothmans not Players and second why don’t you tell me the real number of packets you sold me before I ask you to show me the book.”

“You owe me 24 dollars.”

I pulled out my wallet and gave him 40 dollars and told him to keep the change to pay for the interest his money had accumulated over the years.

Fred’s face lit up as he took the money and put it in his pocket.

“Make sure you close my tab,” I said and began to walk out.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” he said. “What’s with you pretending to be Peter James?”

“I am Peter James. I was Peter James Jr. but my pop died so now I’m Peter James. I came here to see my stepmother Olivia and stepgrandmother Agnes.

“Oh, you’re Peter’s kid eh, I had no idea he was married. He hung around a lot with that loose woman, what’s her name… and her witch of a mother.”

“No, my pop wasn’t married to my mom; I was an accident, a bastard. But, never mind that, why such harsh words about Olivia and Agnes?”

“Well, I wasn’t good enough for them, but lazy Peter James was. I just don’t see what they saw in him.”

“Well, if you didn’t like Peter then why did you sell him cigarettes on credit?”

“Oh, I liked Peter, he was okay, a little strange but okay. Peter wasn’t the problem.”

“So who was the problem? You’re confusing me.”

“Look, I was dating Olivia even before Peter came here. I was planning to propose to her right after we finished high school but Agnes didn’t think I was good enough for Olivia and told me to get lost. Then this stranger comes along, ten years older than her, without a job, probably hiding from something, and she falls for him? And worse than that, Agnes lets her marry him!? He didn’t love her, not like me.”

“Why would you think he didn’t love her?”

“She constantly complained to me about how secretive he was and that he would leave for days at the slightest problem. And in the end, in the end telling her that aliens were after him trying to kill him and after that pretending to have lost his memory to skip out on her and paying his tab. Well that was rich wouldn’t you say?”

“Well, he never told me about that but my father was in trouble with some very bad people and if he had stayed he would have put you and her at risk. Look, I grew up with my mother who was just a teenager when she got pregnant. He never married her and left us when I was a baby. My mother died a long time ago and I had to look after myself. I didn’t meet Peter until much later. When I did he told me to come back here and settle his debts. He had to leave quickly because his enemies were closing in. Why he told Olivia that weird story about aliens, I don’t know. Also, let me understand this, you and Olivia are in your early forties?”

“Yes, Olivia was much younger than Peter.”

“Have you thought of getting back together with Olivia?”

“Her mother would never allow it. Yeah, I still love her. I will take her if she wants me. But I know that will never happen. Plus Olivia’s not the same anymore. I heard she has become a hermit and avoids everyone.”

“Look, I don’t want to get your hopes up but I am willing to talk to Agnes. Olivia is a real sweetheart and I’d hate to see her being punished for my father’s mistakes.”

“I am all for it if you can swing it.”

“How are you doing money wise? Would you be able to support her? I’m sure that would be the first objection Agnes is going to have.”

“Well, after my parents died they left me everything, the house, the store and a lot of investments which I haven’t made use of. I have no brothers or sisters and no friends. Who was I going to spend them on? So I’ve been building my finances like the Great Wall of China. I don’t know what else to do with them. And outside of this store I have no life.”

“Ah, one more thing. I think Agnes is clinging hard on Olivia because she’s afraid of being left alone in her old age. Would you be willing to look after her? Plus, she’s past retirement age and is still working. She feels she needs to work because she doesn’t have the finances to retire.”

“As long as she doesn’t insult me every day I’m willing to look after her.”

“Don’t bet on that, people don’t change their character,” I said and started walking towards the door.

“Let me know what happens,” he said and added. “Your father would be proud of you. You remind me a lot of him.”

After I left I passed by the barber shop. It reminded me to purchase razor blades.

From there I went straight to the bank. There were no customers. The tellers were chatting amongst themselves and Agnes was reading a magazine. I went straight for her counter. The tellers stopped talking and looked my way.

“Good morning Agnes, do you have some time, I want to talk to you.”

There was a lot of snickering from the tellers.

“What, I can’t talk to my grandson now without you making fun of me? He is Peter’s son, you know. I didn’t know I had a grandson but here his is.” There was silence. Everyone was staring at me.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked.

“Not here, when is your break?”

“We don’t get breaks here but I can take lunch at 11:30, in about forty-five minutes.”

“Okay then I’ll wait for you in the restaurant. What can I order for you?”

“I’m just going to have coffee. I brought my lunch from home. See you at 11:30.”

I smiled at the ladies staring at me and quickly left the bank. From there I went straight to the restaurant. I was greeted with a big smile from the young waitress.

“Mr. Peter James. How are you today? What will you have?” she asked.

“Just a coffee and please call me Peter.”

She smiled and said, “You are the buzz of the town. Imagine that, you are Olivia’s son.”

“Is that what the town’s people think? How old do you think I am?”

“Mid-twenties I would estimate.”

“How old do you think Olivia is?”

“Forty maybe?”

“So do you think she gave birth to me at 15? Peter, my father wasn’t even here when Olivia was 15.”

“So, she isn’t your mother then.”

“No, she was my father’s wife which makes her my stepmother,” I said.

Then I heard the waitress’s mother yell, “Stop bothering the man and bring him his order.”

She apologized, ran back to the kitchen and brought me my coffee. She then went back behind the counter, sat down, put her face in her hands and stared at me, making me feel nervous. There were no other customers in the restaurant.

Her mother watched her looking at me and said something. She came over and sat on the chair opposite me and said, “Do you mind if I sit with you? There’s nothing for me to do and I hardly have any company.”

“Please do,” I said. “But I’m meeting someone in a short time.”

“Okay, when your friend shows up I’ll leave.”

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

“My name is Gloria.”

“That’s a nice name. I used to have a friend named Glory a long time ago.”

“What was she like? Did she love you?”

“She was beautiful like you and yes she loved me, so much so that she was willing to die for me.”

“Oh, how romantic...”

“Gloria, may I ask how old you are?”

“I’m 17.”

“Why aren’t you in school?”

“Well, I’m needed here in the restaurant to help my parents. I’ll take over the restaurant when they retire.”

“Do you have brothers and sisters?”

“No, I’m an only child,” she said and watched her mother waving at her calling her to go back into the kitchen.

“Excuse me,” she said, left and disappeared into the kitchen.

About five minutes later Agnes showed up and sat at the table opposite to me. Gloria’s mother came over and took Agnes’s order. She ordered a coffee.

“So, what do you want to see me about? You found more loot?” she asked.

I smiled and said, “I wish.”

“Did you find Fred? What did he have to say for himself?”

“Yes, I found Fred, thanks to you, and I did speak with him. He bought the idea that I was Peter’s son and that I am your grandson.

But that’s not what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about Olivia. I really like her and feel she deserves to be happy.”

She gave me a strange look and said, “What are you suggesting?”

“I will get to the point. Fred still loves her very much and she has a good chance of being happy with him… that is if she wants to, with your approval of course.”

“Yeah, I agree with you. Her life has been a waste of time and you’re right, she deserves to be happy. But with Fred?”

“What’s wrong with Fred? He is an honest and upright man and has his own business. And besides that, he is loaded.”

“Well, what happens to me in my old age when Olivia’s gone?”

“Well, I asked Fred that very same question and he said he was prepared to look after you. You can retire from your job as soon as you feel comfortable.”

“That’s fantastic,” she said. “I didn’t expect that but I knew you would bring us good luck the moment I met you. I often wondered about what to do for Olivia. Now I see there is hope… But would I be able to see grandchildren…?”

“Agnes, you need not worry about that, I will always be your grandson.”

“Well, that’s all good and dandy but who is going to tell Olivia about this and how is she going to react?”

“You do know that Fred and her were high school sweethearts and should have married, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know about that. You talk to her and give her my blessings. I have to go now or I’ll be late for work. Thanks for the coffee.”

As soon as Agnes left, Gloria showed up. I gave her 50 cents for the coffee and slipped a fiver into her hand. She jumped over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I heard her mother yelling at her as I left the restaurant.

I figured I should go and see Olivia right away and get the ball rolling. I went straight from the restaurant to her house. I rang the bell and there she was with a smile on her face.

“I knew it would be you and I bet you have some good news for me,” she said and looked at my hands. I hadn’t brought her anything and felt bad about it.

“Have you had lunch?” I asked her.

“Not yet, but I’m making it now. Would you like to join me?”

I hesitated for a moment as she stared at me and said, “Sure, thank you.”

She grabbed my hand, dragged me into the kitchen and sat me down. I looked at her. She had beautiful and innocent eyes.

“I came here to talk to you. Please hear me out and then tell me what you think.”

It was difficult staring at those beautiful eyes without having feelings for her. So I decided to tell her what I came to tell her before things started going sideways.

“I came here to talk to you about Fred. How do your feel about Fred? If you had had a chance to get back together with him would you want to? He still loves you, you know?”

“Mother would never allow it, I am sure of that.”

“Assuming your mother did allow it would you consider getting together with him?

“I suppose so. He is a nice man, but mother wouldn’t allow it.”

“Despite what you think your mother loves you and wants what’s best for you. I spoke to her today before I came here and she said you have her blessings, if that’s what you want.”

“Really? That’s wonderful,” she said and gave me a huge hug and then said. “But would Fred want me back after I rejected him?”

“Before I went to see your mother I went to see Fred and I can assure you he still has feelings for you. He loves you today as much as he did when you were high school sweethearts.”

“He actually said that?”

“Yes, yes he did and you know something he is filthy rich and is willing to look after your mother. And you know what that means? Agnes can quit working and maybe go on a long vacation before she is too old.”

Olivia began to cry and came over again and kissed me all over my face.

After we had lunch I said thank you and promised to get back to her as soon as I had spoken to Fred again. She walked me to the door and gave me a long kiss on the mouth. I told her I loved her too but not like this and made her promise me, no more kissing on the mouth. She agreed.

Minutes later I was in Fred’s shop again. He had a customer. I waited until he was done.

“You’re back again,” he said.

“Yes, do you have any booze?”

“Yeah? Why?” he asked.

“It’s time to celebrate. I’ve never given a bride away before.”

“And the old battleaxe agreed?”

“You have her blessings. And please, be nice she’ll soon be your mother-in-law.”

“In that case I’d better go to the back and get the good stuff.”

Moments later he came back with a couple of cognac glasses and a bottle of cognac.

“Keep pouring,” I said. “I haven’t had a good stiff drink for a long time.”

We clinked our glasses and I said, “Do you realize that after you marry my stepmother you will be my stepfather?”

He cracked up laughing and said, “I haven’t felt so happy in a long time.”

After I drank my cognac I thanked Fred for the drink and told him to save the bottle for another time. In the meantime I said I had to go and see Agnes and give her the good news.

The bank was full of people when I arrived but Agnes waved me in and said, “I assume you have good news.”

I said, “It’s done. Everyone is in agreement…”

She smiled, gave me the thumbs up and went back to work.

After I left the bank I went to the restaurant and was greeted by Gloria’s mother and before she had a chance to accost me I said I wanted to make reservations for four on Sunday at noon, for a private gathering for a few hours to include a five course meal and a lot of drinks. I then gave her a 100 dollar deposit.

No problem she said and wrote it in her reservation book. She gave me a smile as I walked out.

From there I went to Fred’s store and told him that I had made reservations at the restaurant for Sunday at noon to meet Olivia and

Agnes and have a nice chat with them. Fred said he would be there and poured me another drink. I then asked him if I could use his phone to call Olivia and let her know about Sunday. He said yes and pointed me to the back room. Olivia answered on the first ring and I told her the news and that I was using Fred’s phone to call her. She insisted that I put Fred on. He hesitated at first but picked up the receiver. He was on the phone for 20 minutes. Lucky for me his customers knew what they wanted, where the merchandise was and how much it cost. I had to write things down.

When Fred was done on the phone he looked ecstatic like a teenager in love.

I wrote down Olivia’s phone number and gave it to him. He poured us another drink and before he gave it to me, he gave me a crushing hug. I gulped the drink down, said see you Sunday and left as more customers began to pile in.

When I got back to the base I went straight into the kitchen and poured myself a double whiskey. I took my glass and bottle to the office, sat down on the chair and began to sip my drink. I went over the events of the day and felt proud of what I had done but, for some reason, I felt funny like I was about to eat my cake and then before I could take a bite I had to give it to someone else. I was proud of bringing Fred and Olivia together but there was nothing there for me.

I don’t know when I fell asleep but I found myself slumped over the desk. I was happy to see that my booze and glass were still intact and hadn’t fallen on the floor. I had a hell of a headache.

It was still dark outside. I drank a couple of glasses of water and went to bed.

It was 11 am when I got up the next day. I decided to telephone Olivia and see how things had gone between her and her mother. She was happy to hear from me and said she had a long and productive talk with her mother. She also said Fred called her again in the evening and couldn’t wait to see her on Sunday. I told her I

was happy for her and asked her if she wanted me to bring her some fish. The next day I was going to go fishing.

She said, “Yes, I would be happy if you would bring me fish but you don’t need a reason or an excuse to come and see me, you can come and see me anytime.”

I said, “You’re right, I’ll remember that. I’ll see you tomorrow, probably late afternoon.”

Later that evening I took a shovel and went to the garden and got some earthworms. We were into October by now and the weather was getting pretty cold up on the base. I got about a dozen worms and placed them in a tin can with some soil.

The next morning I was in the quarry with my fishing rod fishing in the cool water. It was brisk and I could see my breath. I spent about an hour in one spot where I had had luck the last time but I didn’t catch anything this time. I then moved to another spot and within a couple of hours I caught six fish. I was frozen by the time I got back inside and decided to have an early lunch just to warm up. I fried four hamburgers and ate them like they were steak, no buns and no garnish. I also made myself a pot of coffee.

After that I cleaned the fish. I put two in the fridge and took the other four with me and put them in the back of my truck. I had them wrapped in a plastic bag.

I decided to call Olivia to warn her that I was coming earlier than expected. She was thrilled to hear my voice.

It was mid-afternoon when I arrived. She was at the door waiting for me. She looked at me with those big beautiful eyes and said, “I know, I know no kissing on the mouth.”

She took the fish and put them in the fridge. After that all she wanted to do was talk about Fred.

I said, “Why don’t I take you there and you can see him in person.”

Suddenly her face turned red and she asked me to hold her.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I’m so nervous. I think I’m going to faint.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

She tried to run back into the house but I grabbed her and carried her to the truck. I sat her on the passenger seat and told her not to worry, he was the same Fred she had always known, and the only difference now was that he was older.”

“I know that silly,” she said.

It was only a couple of minutes drive before we arrived. I asked her to come out of the truck but she refused.

“Do you want me to carry you in?”

She laughed and grabbed my hand and began to squeeze it. I pulled her into the store.

When she saw Fred she let go of me, dashed towards him and embraced him hard. She was shaking and crying. He grabbed her and took her to the back. His customers were wondering what had happened.

“Did someone die?” one of them asked.

“No, no it’s a happy occasion,” I said. “They’re getting married.”

There was uproar in the store with everyone yelling congratulations.

“Please give them a moment,” I said and went back to see how they were doing.

They both apologized and came back out.

I asked Olivia if she wanted me to take her back home but she said no. Fred piped up and said that he was going to take her and not to worry about it.

“In that case,” I said, “I’ll go home and cook my fish for dinner.”

Fred reached under the counter and gave me the bottle of his expensive cognac and said, “Thanks for everything…”

As I left I watched Fred taking money from his customers and Olivia looking at them with those big beautiful eyes and smiling at them. I couldn’t help but be jealous.

The next day I spent wondering if I should go to the restaurant or not. I was more worried about me and how I would feel than about Fred and Olivia. If only I had someone to go with… but I had no one. It would be incredibly callous of me if I didn’t go, so I decided to go.

I looked through Peter’s closet and found a light coloured suit which I felt would be appropriate for the occasion. I arrived at the restaurant first and about three minutes later Fred arrived.

“Where are the ladies?” I asked.

“They’re coming,” he said.

Moments later Agnes walked in followed by Olivia. The moment Olivia walked in she began to cry. I ran over and asked her what was wrong.

“I married Peter in that suit.”

“I am so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”

“Give me a minute, I will be fine,” she said.

Fred looked at me with an inquisitive look.

“You know how mothers are, seeing their sons all grown up,” I said.

Agnes cracked up laughing and so did Fred. Olivia then began to laugh.

After we sat down Fred ordered us a beer each. Gloria’s father who was also the bartender and cook brought us the beer.

After that we each ordered the various courses of our meal and dessert. Since I knew very little about the foods, Olivia ordered them for me. She also ordered the wine. I gave her a look and she said, “Your father taught me all that,” and then winked at me.

I looked through the cracks in the dividers and I could see Gloria in the kitchen looking our way. I waved her to come over but she shook her head from side to side. I guess her mother had confined her to kitchen duty. Also, her mother probably didn’t trust me with her infatuated teenage daughter.

After we ate and drank as much as we could I thought it was a good idea to discuss why we were there but Fred and Olivia beat me to the punch.

“Fred and I will make all the necessary wedding arrangements,” Olivia said and thanked me for everything I had done.

I looked at Agnes and she looked back at me and smiled. There was nothing more to be said. Fred waved at Gloria’s mother and asked her to bring our coffee, dessert and the check. I looked at Fred and he shook his head at me. He was going to pay for everything with his credit card, including the tip.

I took a walk towards the washroom and Gloria’s mother handed me the 100 dollar deposit I had made a few days earlier. As soon as she stepped out I gave the money to Gloria. She took it, counted it and couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Hide it,” I said. “Your mother will kill me if she finds out.”

When I went back to my table Gloria ran over, put her arms around my neck and give me a big kiss on the mouth and said, “I wanted you to be my first,” and ran off back to the kitchen.

Everyone looked at me. Agnes spoke up and said, “You’re quite popular with the ladies, aren’t you? Even the bank tellers were eyeing you.”

But, deep inside, I knew I had no one, and I couldn’t have anyone.

Meeting Oscar the town drunk

When I got back to the base I lay down on my bed in the room next to the office and in my mind I went over the various things that had happened in the restaurant. The reason I had planned the get together in a public place was so that we could work out a deal of how the relationship between Agnes, Fred and Olivia was going to work but, as it turned out, Fred and Olivia had it under control.

Fred and Olivia had not seen each other in five or maybe ten years, yet they accepted their arrangement without question. Also, neither of them had remarried. So it got me thinking. Did I really make this arrangement? Or did I bring an existing secret relationship in the open?. I was sure Olivia was going to tell me the truth if I asked her… But I wasn’t going to ask her. As far as I was concerned my cover was not blown and they and the town’s people believed I was Peter’s son. My part here was done. The only other person that was a wildcard now was Oscar the town drunk.

I decided to call Olivia and ask her if she knew Oscar and where I could find him. Agnes answered the phone so I first asked her what she thought of how things had gone earlier today. She didn’t have much to say except that she had not seen Olivia so happy in a long time.

“I thought Olivia was too old for that sort of thing but I guess I was wrong,” she said.

I then asked Agnes if she knew anyone named Oscar. She said no and gave me Fred’s telephone number. She figured Fred or Olivia might know something and to call them. I thanked her and hung up.

It was getting late in the day and I figured Fred and Olivia were celebrating their reunion and it would be impolite and downright rude to interrupt them, so I decided to call them the next day at Fred’s store. I was certain Olivia would be there.

I got up late the next day and made myself a good breakfast. I didn’t eat supper the night before. It was almost ten o’clock in the morning

when I made the call. Olivia answered in a nice cheery voice, “Fred’s smoke shop, how may I help you?”

“It should be Fred and Olivia’s smoke shop…” I said.

She recognized me and was thrilled to hear my voice. She again thanked me for what I had done and wondered if I was checking up on her.

“Only because I love you so much,” I said.

“You’re too late, I’m engaged now and no longer available. You had your chance,” she said and laughed out loud and then added. “I love you too, what can I do for you?”

“Do you know anyone named Oscar?” I asked.

“Yeah, I know an Oscar, he was Peter’s friend. He hangs around in a bar on the other side of town, the rough side of town.”

“Do you know the name of the bar?”

“No, I’m sorry I don’t. But, please don’t go there… It’s dangerous… A lot of unsavory characters hang around there. At least that’s what Peter used to tell me.”

“Thank you, I will be careful. Say hello to Fred for me,” I said and hung up.

What a lovely woman, I thought.

I went to the safe and opened it. I looked at the gun and thought of taking it. I decided against it. I had been carrying my badge everywhere I went since I got here; it was time to put it away in the safe. I thought if something happened to me and it was discovered someone might wonder what it was and ask questions. If I got hurt and taken to the hospital someone would see it for sure and perhaps confiscate it. The police might want to know what it was, especially the badge and the material it was made of. It should be okay in the

safe, I figured. I filled my wallet with money, put my badge in the safe and shut it.

It was getting colder by the day outside so I decided to dress warm and take a coat with me in case my truck broke down and I had to walk a long way. I also took one of Peter’s hats and put it on. I looked like a different person, older and weirder.

I stopped at the gas station in town and filled the truck’s tank with gasoline. Gas prices had increased considerably since I had left Toronto four months ago. But I didn’t care, I had plenty of money.

When I came out of the service station I turned left and took the east main road which I discovered circled around town before going south. I saw only one bar. It was located off the main road between the residential area and the factory. The parking lot was empty. I parked in the middle and walked down to the bar entrance. I walked in, it was dark inside. Most of the lights were off. The bartender was standing behind the bar counter wiping beer glasses with a white cloth.

I passed by a man slumped over a table wearing a winter coat. I said, “Oscar, is that you?”

He rose up and said, “Nobody calls me that! Who are you?!”

The bartender spoke up and said, “What do you want with him?”

I ignored the bartender and said, “Oscar, it’s me Peter James. Don’t you recognize me?”

He looked at me carefully and said, “You’re not Peter James…” He then yelled out loud, “I KNOW PETER JAMES AND YOU ARE NOT HIM.”

The bartender got upset and told me to get lost. I took a few steps away. Two men came from the back and told him to shut up. Oscar got upset and swore at them.

They started coming towards us and one of them said, “We’ll fix the injun and teach him a lesson.”

The other one picked up a pool cue from the billiard table. When I saw that I quickly reached into my pocket, opened one of the vials with firewater and drank it. I don’t think anyone saw me. I put the empty vial back in my pocket.

When the man raised the cue to hit Oscar on the back I grabbed it from him and tossed it away. I then grabbed him by his stomach and tossed him like a rag doll. The other man, the bigger one, grabbed me from behind and locked his arms around my chest so that his partner could punch me in the gut. I snapped his locked arms open, turned around, grabbed him, raised him above my head and tossed him on top of his partner.

I was feeling angry and it was showing in my face and body. When the two saw me approaching they took off outside and vanished. I went to the door and looked for them; they were nowhere to be seen. I came back and went straight for the bartender.

He raised his arms high and said, “You got no trouble from me.”

I went back to Oscar. He was sitting up looking sober.

He said, “Oh, c’mon man, if you said you were the Hulk I would have believed you, but you’re not Peter James.” He then whispered and said, “Are you one of those aliens who wants to kill him?”

I said, “No. But its time we had a talk.”

“Not here,” he said. I agreed.

I helped him up and we began walking towards the door.

The bartender yelled, “Excuse me.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“He hasn’t paid for his bar tab.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Five hundred dollars,” he said.

“WHAT?” I yelled.

“You pay or I call the cops,” he said.

“I have a better idea,” I said. “How about I destroy the bar and break your legs and then you call the cops and we’ll see where that will get you?”

“Are you some sort of Fed?” he asked.

“How much or I swear to you I will do it!” I yelled.

“Fifty-five dollars,” he said and Oscar agreed.

“Here’s sixty and keep the change,” I said and we walked out.

“You’re one bad son of a bitch and I know you’re not a Fed, so who are you? And thank you for saving my ass.”

“I told you, I am Peter James,” I replied.

“No, you’re not him!”

“How do you know?”

“Peter James was my friend and I know everything about him and you’re not him.”

“I am Peter James Jr., his son. Peter James is dead.”

“You’re not his son. Peter didn’t have a son. He may be dead but he had no son.”

“What am I then?”

“You’re one of them Aliens, you’re not human. No human has that kind of strength.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.

“Look, I have put up with a lot of crap from the whites here and I don’t need no alien to lie to me. I know all about you aliens and your invasion of our planet.”

“You know jack shit… and what whites are you talking about.”

“You know the Europeans who came here and took our lands.”

I looked at him with a surprised look.

“Don’t you look at me like that? I am indigenous to these lands. Yes, that’s right; these are my people’s lands…”

I opened the door to my truck and sat him down in the passenger seat.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked.

“I have nowhere to go, take me to the base. And, what are you doing with Peter’s truck.”

“What base?” I asked. “And what makes you think this is Peter’s truck?”

“I may be a drunk but I’m not stupid. Cut the horse shit and take me to the base.”

“Okay, if you want to go to the base, whatever that may be, then show me how to get there.”

“Fine, we’ll play your game,” he replied.

He showed me a different way to get there, a more rugged way over the mountain and asked me to turn right just as we passed the garage.

“What’s this place?” I asked.

“This is the parking lot in front of the base. And to the right on the side is the door where you get into the garage. There, on the far left corner you will find a WW II tank. I made that tank work for Peter James. And to the left, here, inside that door are the gasoline and diesel pumps. Last time I checked they were full with thousands of gallons of fuel. Did you find Peter’s phone inside? Well I installed it for him. Do you want me to tell you more?” he asked.

“Let’s go inside,” I said.

We got out of the truck and instead of going to the garage he took me and showed me where the fuel was stored.

“Do you have your keys?” he asked.

The outside key also opened that door to the fuel depot. The room stunk of diesel fuel. It was dark inside and there were no lights, but I could see the two nozzles inside clearly marked “diesel” and “regular”.

“These were used to fuel the military trucks when the base was active. Peter used them to fill his truck. There is a gas can inside behind the door. It holds four gallons of fuel. Fill it and take it to the truck.”

“I just filled the truck on the way to see you,” I said.

“Next time don’t. This is free and the pumps are gravity driven. Just make sure you put regular in the truck and not diesel.”

I shook my head and locked the door.

When we went inside he went straight for the military tank. I followed.

“I parked this baby here and I see it’s still here. After I got it running we fired it at the hillside of that mountain. It was a huge blast that

echoed for a long time. You can still see the rocks we dislodged,” he said, looked at me and said. “I bet you I can make it work again.”

I didn’t say anything but at this point I was no longer sure that the base was mine. But, from every indication he gave me I got the impression that I was in charge here. I decided to test that.

“I’ll let you fix the tank and we’ll fire it again but first we have to eat. Have you eaten?”