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“'Ford?' her father asked.

  “'Yes, sir, a Ford Truck.'

  “'That truck is 21 years old. Who kept it for you?'

  “'My dad.'

  “Her dad smiled. 'Well, it’s hard to think your dad would let you roam the streets in a lemon.'

  “'He made the truck as safe as he knew mechanically possible,' I added.

  “'So, can I go, dad?' Marlene finally jumped in.

  “'Of course, you can.' He looked at the watch on his wrist and said, 'It’s 5:00 p.m and it’s a school night. Have her back by nine.'

  “'Yes, sir,' I said.

  “I smiled at her mother who never said a single word the whole time I spoke to her father. I thought it was odd. But, again, it was 1955.

  “Marlene’s parents eventually pulled out of the driveway in front of Administration meeting.

  “I looked at Marlene and said, 'Come on, my truck is over here.'

  “I scurried to my truck feeling very self-conscious because of the clothes I was wearing. I hurried and opened the door for Marlene. I walked around and adjusted myself so my midsection didn’t look so indecent when I sat in the driver’s seat. Then I climbed into the driver’s seat, feeling ridiculous. Marlene looked over at me and smiled kindly.

  “'Okay, where to now?' She asked, expectantly.

  “'Home,' I said, and started up the truck.

  “I pulled out of the parking knowing I was going to be in huge trouble with my wrestling coach. I figured I could explain it away by saying I had a potential diarrhea emergency. That always got me out of everything. That wouldn’t be a tidbit I would share with Marlene.

  The room filled with laughter and when everyone had simmered down Todd continued his story.

  “My house was close to the school. We drove the two blocks in silence and when I pulled into the graveled driveway she gasped at the size of the house. 'Wow,' she said gazing up at the two-story four-bedroom house with a wraparound porch, 'You live here?'

  “'Uh, no. We rent the house behind this one.' I said driving the truck around to the back of the property. I parked in front of our quaint two-bedroom house. “The big house belongs to Coach Harrington. Well, I think it was his parents and he inherited it. He rents the smaller house out to us.'

  “'Oh, that’s nice,' she said reaching for the door handle.

  “'No, allow me,' I said, then I hopped out and rushed around the truck to open the door for her.

  “Well, if she thought I lived in the giant house she was about to find out I live in the smaller servants house. Would she think less of me? I scanned her face for a clue but she didn’t seem to be worried about it at all. She was all smiles. Well, she likes me for who I am or she doesn’t like me at all.

  “My parents were amazing people. I figured it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I brought Marlene in to meet them. My dad just had that man to man talk with me, after all.

  “Still wearing my singlet, I walked through the front door. My parents were sitting in the living room area.

  “'Hello, Mom and Dad,' I said. 'This is my new friend Marlene from school. I’m going to change real quick from practice and then we are going to go out for a bite to eat.'

  “My Dad was sitting in his recliner reading the paper and drinking coffee. My mother, knitting, as she always did, and looked up in surprise. She smiled warmly at Marlene.

  “'Why don’t you sit next to me,” my mother said to Marlene.

  “Marlene walked over tentatively over to where my mother was sitting and sat next to her. My mother draped the blanket she was knitting over Marlene’s lap. “Hold my blanket sweetheart, and tell me how you and my son know each other.”

  “I smiled at Marlene and said, 'I will be back in a jiffy.' I excused myself and went to my bedroom to change into something less embarrassing. My small room was spartan and neat. I had a single bed, a small four drawer dresser and a small desk and chair to work on my homework. No posters or pictures adorned my walls. Dad expected the bed to be made every day and for me to keep my room clean. Mom didn’t have time to pick up after the two of us. So, we picked up after ourselves.

  “'Mom did a lot of work making baked goods that she sold around town. Everyone loved mom’s baked goods, but her cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing was the one people ordered the most. People always wanted them for get-to-gathers, and businesses would hire her to make them for their big meetings. My mom was such a hit with the local fire department that the firefighters came over during Christmas and sang Christmas Carols. They also brought my mom chili or fried fish when they had their fundraisers. I'll say this... If our house and town hall caught on fire at the same time, the town would need to build a new town hall.

  Another round of laughter erupted and Yari quieted us so Todd could continue.

  “Then I went to the bathroom and jumped in the shower for approximately sixty seconds. I dried off and slapped on some of my dad’s cologne. I put on a light blue button-down shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of white tennis shoes. I didn’t have to shave. I shaved about once a week and I had already shaved a couple days ago. So my scruff was at a nice length. I ran a comb through my hair and walked out of the bathroom to face my date.

  “Marlene stood up and looked as pretty as I remembered. I was glad the bump on my head wasn’t making me see things.

  “'It was nice to meet you, Marlene,' my mom said.

  “My dad gave me the nod and a smile.

  “I walked with Marlene back to my truck in our driveway. I let her in the passenger side. I knew I had till 9 pm.

  “We had a good three hours for our first date. Let the date begin.

  “So, that was how we met.”

  “That's a terribly sweet G-rated story.” Yari laughed.

  “Sorry, it didn't titillate you erotically.” Tommy teased Yari. The guy had something real to say.”

  “I was just messing with Todd. I actually love how you set up and told the story. How long were you with her?”

  “All of her life. She was human. She was the only woman I was ever with.”

  “When did she die,” I asked. This was something Todd and I had in common.

  “Five years ago,” he answered.

  “All right, time for sleep guys.”

  “Sure thing, Warden,” Yari teased.

  “Todd, my new friend, you can take the first shift.”

  “Sure thing.”

  And that was that. The rest of us fell asleep soon after.

  Chapter Eight

  When I woke up the next morning, I noticed Joshua wasn't in the room. So, anxiety came overcame me and I went searching for my son the same way I had when he had wondered off at age five at the grocery store.

  I went upstairs and checked every room, and he wasn't in any of them. I hustled back down the stairs and opened the door and to my relief, my son was sitting on the porch steps.

  “Hey there, kiddo,” I said as I shut the door quietly behind me. The night sky was lit up in stars, and I could see why my son would want to be out here. It was peaceful.

  Joshua turned around and smiled. “Hey, dad. Were you looking for me?”

  I grinned. “I'll always look for you.”

  “That's why you're a great father.”

  “Am I?”

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Well, I have two sons and one of them has chosen to fight in death matches rather than be here with us.” When I mentioned the death matches, Jason's head dropped. Instantly, my heart felt for my son. Joshua was my son, but he was Jason's twin. They had a deeper different kind of connection. For nine months they shared a womb and they had grown

  “Why do you think Joshua has chosen this path?” he asked.

  My son seemed to have the answers to most everything in life. But he didn't have an answer for why his twin brother would fight to the death each weekend.

  “I don't know, son. No matter how much he denies it, he's grieving. Somehow playing games with death is his way of coping. It sounds absurd,
but every one of us is born different. Joshua always had an edge to him. That's why I thought he would have been the best choice to lead the Sons of Josiah. But it was that same edge that I thought would make him a good leader that actually made him a horrible leader.”

  “He wasn't a horrible leader, dad. He was impatient and undeserving. How could you expect anyone to lead at that moment in time other than yourself?”

  “We both thought he could do it as I recall.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I'm your son and his brother. I was hoping he would do an awesome job.”

  “What kind of job did he do?” I asked Jason.

  “He did okay. It was the people who needed fixing.”

  “Do you really believe that”

  “I do, father. They were too young and too scared to follow someone equally as young and inexperienced as Joshua.”

  I paused and took a deep breath. “Jason, I want you to come with me this weekend to watch Joshua fight. I only want you to come and I think we can get in and out without triggering any alerts.”

  “Why me? I'm the worst fighter in the group.”

  “No, you're not,” I said confidently. Sion was on my mind, but I wouldn't bring his name up at this time. We had more important things to discuss. “Jason, I want you there because we are going to sneak in and speak to Joshua after his fight. I want you there because I want him to remember us as a family and maybe something might trigger him out of this bitter spell he is under.”

  “I'm nervous.”

  “Don't be, son. I will by your side the whole time. I know how to be stealthy. We will get in and out and this time I hope we bring your brother back with us.”

  Joshua looked worried.

  “We're going to be okay. I promise son.” I paused and said, “I tell you what? You don't have to go with me this weekend. But I want to leave an open invitation for you to come with me. I plan on going down there every weekend until this madness is over.”

  “Okay, maybe next week. Let me think about it.”

  “It's probably better for me to go alone. I can just worry about myself.”

  Joshua looked a tad relieved, but then a look of worry crossed his face. “Dad, we need to get Joshua out of there.”

  “I'm trying, son.”

  I went inside the house and yelled out, “Who wants a Scrabble beating?”

  Chapter Nine

  The next night, everyone seemed interested in hearing Todd tell more about his life.

  “Hey, Todd, we have two questions to ask you tonight,” I said. “One, will you finish the story about your first date? And two, how about telling us about your turning?”

  “Ironically enough,” Todd said. “Both stories happened soon after each other.”

  Todd started, “So, Marlene and I pulled into the burger joint and the first thing we noticed was that it was fairly busy.

  “It was 6:00 pm and dark outside. It gets dark early in Orange County during the month of January. I didn’t see any students from school. So, I had high hopes this was going to be a drama free date. I sighed in relief as we walked through the door and sat in the nearest empty booth. My high school was a rumor mill, and I didn’t want anyone to mess things up with my new gal pal by announcing that we were a couple before we actually were. In the past, I found that was a huge turn off for one or both parties when a relationship was assumed by the students.

  “I left my jacket on top of the table of the booth to claim our table. Then Marlene and I walked to the front to place our order. The place didn’t have waitresses because it catered to high school kids. I assumed high school kids must be horrendous tippers. So, it was smart on their part.

  “When it was our turn in line, we ordered a couple of cheeseburgers, fries, and two chocolate shakes. We weren’t at the sharing stage yet, but I had a feeling the next time there was a shake involved we would be sharing it.

  “'Your number is 44,' the cashier said and put the order on the counter behind him so the cook could see it.

  “We both grabbed some napkins and walked back to our booth. We sat across from one another. This was a first date, so sitting on the same side would be weird.

  “I looked at Marlene and her blue eyes shot right through me. She stared at me with an intensity that felt overwhelming. I tried smiling and turning my head, but that didn’t work. It only made her stare more uncomfortable. Finally, I said, 'Are you trying to look right through me?'

  “'What do you mean?' she asked.

  “'You were looking at me as if you knew a secret about me. I don’t even know any secrets about me'

  “'A secret? About you? I just met you.'

  “'Maybe not a secret. It’s just that nobody has ever looked at me the way you are looking at me.'

  “'I’m sorry. Does it bother you?'

  “'No, it’s okay.' I smiled at her real big. I tried to give her the same intensity. Then something happened as we looked into each other's eyes. A tear began to drip from my right eye.

  “'Are you okay,' she asked.

  I turned away real fast and grabbed a napkin. 'I have something in my eye,' I said.

  Why was I becoming so emotional?

  “'Do you stare at everyone like that the first time you meet them?' I asked.

  “'No, It's just you.' She leaned back in the booth and relaxed. 'I was only looking at you trying to figure out if you could actually be this nice of a guy.'

  “'Well, it was as if your gaze caught me hook, line, and sinker.' I said, as vulnerable as I had ever felt.

  “'Why did you tear up?' she asked with a smile.

  “'I didn’t tear up,” I protested. 'I had one tear slowly drip down my cheek.'

  “'Why?' she asked.

  I looked at her and said, 'Wow, I wasn’t ready for this.'

  'Ready for what?'

  “'An hour ago, I was jogging around my school wearing my wrestling singlet. And now, I’m gazing into a girl’s eyes and my heart is...' I stopped myself. I couldn’t be this open so fast. What if I scared her away? What if I scared myself away?

  “'What was your heart doing?' she asked eagerly, leaning toward me in the booth.

  “'Let’s change the subject,' I said. 'How old are you?'

  “'Is that what you want to do?' she asked. 'Change the subject?'

  “'For the moment... yeah.' I needed to compose myself. She had me extremely flustered and all she did was look at me. I felt like she was reading my soul. She obviously wasn’t. I mean... was she? So, I worded my question in a different way. 'What grade are you in?'

  “'I'm a senior just like you, I turned eighteen last April.'

  I smiled. 'I turned eighteen a month ago.'

  “'You’re just a young pup,' Marlene joked.

  “'When is your birthday?' I asked.

  “'April 4.'

  “So, you’re five months older than me,” I laughed.

  “'That’s a lot of living. Five months is a long time.' Marlene said in a mocking tone.

  “I laughed. I couldn’t tell if she was being serious. But the more I was getting to know her, the more I realized she had an odd personality. The type that not too many girls her age would risk exposing. You know, being themselves. Anyone who wasn’t afraid of being different was someone I admired. But, there was something else going on here. We had a connection that was breaking my walls down rapidly.

  “We continued to talk for the next hour. Slipping easily into a comfortable conversation. When the door of the diner opened, three greasers from our rival school, Savannah walked in. Two of them were wearing sweatshirt hoods over their heads. In high school, it was all about numbers. I probably could have taken any one of the guys individually in a fist fight, but they had three guys and I was alone on a date.

  “Tony Santino was their leader and he was a mean son of a bitch. He wasn't wearing a hood and didn't give a shit if he was recognized or not. He got off on people's fear. I hated guys like him. I noticed the hooded guys scouting the joint to see who the
y could torment until their victims would just leave the place. I was a tough kid and sometimes it worked against me because as they scanned the room, I didn’t avoid their gaze.

  “Santino looked at me and we made eye contact. That was all the prodding someone like him needed to raise hell with somebody. He motioned to his friends to follow him over to our booth. My adrenaline shot through the roof and I was just waiting for his abuse.

  “'Aren’t you a football player for Lincoln High?' Santino asked me as if it was a threat to his manhood.'

  “'Yes, and I’m also a wrestler,' I said,winking at him.

  “'Wrestling and football?' he mocked. 'There is so much meat in this meathead,' he said. 'He is doubling over.' His grease monkey friends laughed and I guessed him referring to me as a meathead was his ‘big-put-down’ for me. If that was his worst I thought, maybe our date wouldn’t be ruined.

  Santino finally zeroed in on Marlene and asked her. 'So, is this what turns you preppy girls on? A guy who gets all sweaty rolling around with other guys?'

  I stood up and put my body between Marlene and Santino. Then the other two greasers came around and grabbed my arms. I looked over at the cashier and he was pretending he wasn’t paying attention to our discussion.

  “'Ever want to stab somebody during a match?' Santino whispered in my ear. 'Ever want your blade to slice through some motherfucker when he is kicking your ass?'

  “'That has never happened,' I said.

  “'You have never lost?' Santino asked.

  “'No, I have lost, but I lost to competitors who deserved to win.'

  “'Oh, we are talking about good sportsmanship.' Santino laughed out loud, 'Too bad, I know nothing about that.' Then Santino took out his switchblade and before I realized it was happening, he stabbed me in the stomach three times.

  My stomach was burning, and I thought I was dead or dying. When I looked up, all three greasers were running out of the diner like a bunch of cowards. Marlene was yelling for someone to call the police. Her hands were pressed down on my stomach trying to prevent me from bleeding out.”

  “This all happened on your first date with the girl you spent your entire life with?” Tommy asked. “No wonder she never left you.”