Clay sat down on the nearest chair, staring straight ahead, I ran over to him, Chip and Dale on my heels. I felt his neck, he was still alive. He had a furrow down the center of his head, damn another head shot. Couldn’t they just shoot him in the shoulder or something. I tried to take the knife from his hand, he wouldn’t let go of it.
I turned and checked the room, “If anybody has any ideas, you had better forget it, or I will plant you just a sure as looking at you.” Then I said to Chip and Dale, “Pick Clay up, let’s get out of here.” They picked him up, his legs still worked, Clay walked along between them. I glanced around the room, there was a man standing in the office door in the back, he raised a pistol, I shot him through the head.
I got to the door and turned around, “You all seen what happened, they started it. Is there anyone here who thinks otherwise?” I said. No one said a word.
Chip mumbled to Dale, “Eight of them, did you see that, they killed eight of them.”
“I don’t think the one who got his hand cut will die, I least I don’t think so.” Dale whispered back.
Chip and Dale lifted Clay into the back seat. He sat there staring straight ahead. There was a siren coming down the street. It was the local law. The same guy who we had dealings with last time.
His car slid to a stop beside me. “What happened? I got a call that someone was killing everybody?”
“Not someone, us. They jumped us, we just defended ourselves, tell him Chip and Dale.” They told him what happened.
I asked him, “Do you know any of those people who bought the bar?”
“No, well, just by name, they’re from back east somewhere. There were eight of them, hard cases, they looked like to me.”
Chip said, “Not anymore, their pretty limp.” Then he giggled. I looked at him, nerves, I guess.
“If you’re done, I have to get Clay to the Hospital, they hit him in the head again.”
I got in the back seat with Clay. I pulled out my phone and called Suong. I told her to beat her butt to the Hospital. “No, don’t take him there, if he’s stable bring him home, we can keep him safe here. In the Hospital we can’t.”
She was right, I don’t know what I was thinking. It didn’t take us half as long to get home, they put the pedal to the metal. Everyone was there waiting for us, well not everyone, Red wasn’t. I opened the door, Hank jumped in with Rosie right behind him, Tiff was holding Alita.
Suong was right there as they lifted Clay down. They hustled him into the house. Daisy was standing there, “Where’s Red?” I asked. “He’s at the house, he’s been drinking, you know how us Indians are, we can’t handle alcohol very good.” I turned and walked over to Daisy’s house, Red was setting at the table with a bottle of whiskey, he stood up when he seen me, I kicked him right in the balls. He bent over, I took the bottle and hit him over the head. Then I left.
Daisy was coming, I stopped her and said, “Tell him he stays sober, or he’s history. Also he had better talk with respect when he talks to Clay, or I will cut his tongue out.”
I went into the room where they had Clay hooked up to I.V.’s and such. “How is he?” I asked Suong.
“He’s stable, he’s in a light coma. The bullet didn’t penetrate the skull, but he has a concussion again. He sure has a hard head.”
Daisy was at the door, “Uh, Suong will you come look at Red. He hasn’t woken up yet.” Suong went with her.
I sat down with Alita on my lap, Alita was holding Clay’s hand. “Is Daddy going to be alright?”
“Sure Honey, he’s just in another coma, he’ll be alright.”
Suong came back, “You hit him pretty hard, but it wasn’t that, that was the problem, he was dead drunk.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess. I shouldn’t have hit him with that bottle, but the kick in the nuts, I don’t regret. Sometimes men get to thinking that their so superior, it just makes me so mad.”
“Yeah, I know. But Clay was never one of those, was he?” Suong said.
“Nope, or I wouldn’t have married him. My first husband had that tendency, but he got killed before I could correct his attitude.” Suong left the room. I continued to rock Alita. I heard someone coming down the hall, it was Rosie.
“Mom, Harry Silver called, he wanted to talk to you. But I told him you were busy. He said that he talked to the rest of the patrons in the Bar and that they backed up what you told the local law. He wanted to know how Dad was, I told him he was in another coma, he said he was sorry to hear that, but a coma was better than being dead. Then he laughed, I hung up on him.”
“Yes, he has a weird sense of humor, but I think he means well. How are the Hoeffer boys? I hope they weren’t too traumatized?”
“No, I don’t think so, all they said was, ‘Boy, you’re Mother is one bad dude.’ They know how bad Dad is, they expected it out of him, but I think they’ll make a wide circle around you from now on.” Rosie said, with a crooked little smile.
“Which one of them is sweet on Tiff? Or are they both?” I asked.
“To tell you the truth, I think they both are, but of course Tiff can’t have both of them, or can she?”
I rocked on for a few seconds, “No, of course not, it wouldn’t be fair to them, would it?”
“No, it wouldn’t. But I bet Tiff would have a ball.” Rosie said, as she left the room laughing.
I checked Clay, he was breathing easy, Alita had went to sleep so I laid her beside him. Then I sat back down and picked up a magazine. I absently read some of it. I heard a flapping at the open window, Gabe settled himself on the window sill. I now heard a tapping on the hallway floor, Clancy came in the room….
“Well, you guys are a ‘day late and a dollar short’, aren’t you?” I said.
“Could be,” Gabe said, “but you two are pretty hard to keep up with. Contrary to what some people might think, we can’t be everywhere, every minute of the day. Isn’t that right Clancy?”
“Well me, anyway, I don’t have wings. But the truth be told, Gabe was just funning you. We can be everywhere, if we need to be.”
“You didn’t think you needed to be there, we almost got killed.” I said.
“No you didn’t. Haven’t you ever wondered how come Clay never dies from these head wounds?”
“Well, I just thought it was chance and circumstance, wasn’t it?” I said.
“No, we won’t let them kill him. Oh they want to, but he’s something like Job, they can only go so far. But unlike Job, we won’t let them kill his family either. So you don’t have to worry about you or the children being killed by them. You can have an accident that’s unrelated to them and kick the bucket. So you had better make sure you fasten your seatbelts.” Gabe said.
“Why haven’t you told Clay this?” I queried.
“We have, didn’t he tell you?” Clancy said. “No, I don’t suppose he did, it is all a little far fetched, isn’t it?”
“Yes and No. It’s not really, given what’s been happening to us. I would believe almost anything at this point.”
“Momma, who are you talking to? I don’t see anybody.” Alita said, setting up and looking around.
“Gabe and Clancy was just here, they just wanted to see how your Daddy was. They said he was going to be fine.”
“Why didn’t they stay? I would like to talk to them.” Alita said, as she crawled out of bed and came and sat on my lap.
“Perhaps next time they come for a visit, they’ll stay longer.” I said.
“They had better, or I’ll be mad. They’re my friends too.” Alita said. Clay stirred a little in bed, I went over to him. His fever had went down, he was sleeping comfortably, I don’t think he was in a coma, I think he was just sleeping now. Or anyway, I hoped so…
“Mom?” Rosie came in, “are you ready for supper? Come on Alita, I’ll help you wash up for supper.” She lifted Alita up and put her on one hip and left the room. I bent over and gave Clay a kiss on the cheek, smoothing his hair back from his eyes, I gave him a better kiss, he stirred a little bit with that one. Well at least that wasn’t in a coma…