North Vancouver
If I’d known Tony was going to take so long I would’ve eaten a snack with the guys at our regular dinnertime. Only Tony liked us to eat together and after breaking his stay-inside rule twice in the first hour he was gone, I wanted to be on his good side. At five, Michael had another of his cold cut specials and I’d taken Jake another cheese sandwich. His nose twitched like a rabbit as he chewed and I left it with him so I wouldn’t have to watch. By the time Tony’s pickup drove up to the gate, it was nearly sunset. I was ready to gnaw my own arm off.
But when Michael opened the gate, it wasn’t Tony who drove into the yard. Javier slouched behind the wheel for a minute before he slid out. His face was drawn. He wore a tattered T-shirt and jeans cut off at the knee. Every inch of his clothing and skin was splattered with blood. Dried blood even dotted his thick salt-and-pepper hair.
“Where’s Tony?” Michael said, easing the gate shut. I braced myself at the bottom of the steps. I felt the bad news before it punched me in the gut.
Javier swiped off his sunglasses with a trembling hand. His eyes were red and tired looking. He said quickly, “There’s been an accident.”
“What type of accident?” I said. Fear almost choked me silent.
“A shooting accident.”
The smell of blood from his clothing stuck in my throat. I held my breath.
“Where’s Tony?” Michael asked in a high, thin voice.
Javier flung out his answer like a single long word. “He’s-at-the-hospital-he’s-got-a-bed-and-I-left-him-in-the-hands-of-a-very-capable nurse.”
I exhaled.
“What happened?” Michael wound the key lanyard around his fingers before scrunching it into a ball.
“After we shot the deer, our pain-in-the-ass next door neighbours came over and started bitching about firearms in the suburbs. Tony gave the rifle to LJ to clean and put away but LJ stashed it behind the back steps because he wanted to see the fight with the neighbours. When they finally got off our backs no one was thinking about the gun any longer. We were talking about how they had no idea how scarce food might get. The next thing we knew, Alex picked the gun up and pointed it at Tony. He thought it was a toy. I yelled at him to put it down but he panicked and pulled the trigger.” Javier’s light Spanish accent softened the rapid words but not the message. I thought of Javier’s youngest son Alex. How old was he now? Five? Six? Copying the men with the guns. And LJ—little Javier—he was only about thirteen himself. Why were the guns anywhere near them?
“Where’d he hit him?” Michael’s voice hitched.
A mosquito landed on my wrist and I smacked it dead. When I flicked its flattened body away it left a trail of blood across my skin.
“In the left arm, but it went straight through the flesh. Missed the bone. The main thing is he lost a lot of blood.” Javier’s speech slowed and his round body deflated.
My head swam and I rubbed at the mosquito bite. “Alexander shot Tony,” I said more to myself than anyone else.
“He’s going to be okay.” Javier’s tone lifted and he almost sounded okay again but I’d seen behind his mask and I knew he was worried. He tried to sound reassuring but he’d started to sweat hard. “We got him to the best place possible. To the hospital.”
“Cypress Grove?”
“Yes,” Javier said a little impatiently. “Both bridges are closed. I couldn’t exactly take him downtown, could I?”
“Is the hospital really okay?” I thought about the radio reports in the afternoon. “They can look after him? How long will he be there?
“Yep, the hospital is okay. Lots of emergency workers on hand. Your old man lost a lot of blood so I don’t know how long they’ll keep him—a couple of days at least,” he said with a tense smile. “I tell you, getting to the ER wasn’t easy. All the roads around it are torn up, caved in. Houses and apartment buildings are down, blocking the way. It’s a mess. I drove as close as I could. Then we walked the last two blocks.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe they’d made it.
My mind spun into overdrive. “But he needs clean clothes and his razor and… and… and what about all his vitamins? He needs those. He says all that crap keeps him strong.” Thoughts tumbled out of my mouth. “We’d better go see him and take him his stuff.”
“No. Tony said to tell you to stay here. Don’t leave the property.” Javier waved away my idea. “His orders. Get a bag together for him and I’ll pick it up tomorrow and take it over. Then I’ll come back here and give you a full report.”
Michael twisted the lanyard. “When did all this happen?”
Javier checked his watch. “Five hours ago? A little longer. It took a while to get someone to pay attention to us at the hospital. Then I stopped at my place to see how everybody was doing there.”
“Tony walked two blocks?” He couldn’t have been too badly injured if he walked. Another mosquito buzzed around my face and I crushed it on my neck.
“Yeah. Not fast but he got there. He told them it was an accident, a self-inflicted wound so there wouldn’t be too many questions. Not that they were too particular today. They had a lot of incoming.” Javier paused. “Anyway, he said to tell you, Michael is commanding officer. No one is to enter or leave this compound other than me. Got it?”
“No. No, I don’t have it!” My anger boiled over. “Tony’s injured and we can’t see him? God!”
Michael squared his shoulders. “Rowan’s right. We need to see him.”
Javier shook his head. “Out of the question. Tony said to remind you about chain of command. His orders were clear. You’re to stay here and protect the place. Stay out of trouble.”
I was speechless. How could they have left a loaded weapon around with three young boys in the yard? Didn’t they know anything about gun safety? Gun safety. What an oxymoron. No wonder Javier’s wife Tammi made him keep his gun at Tony’s house. If he kept them at his place, his whole family’d probably be dead by now.
Javier dragged the gun case out of the car. “It’s already cleaned so let’s put it away.”
I followed him and Michael around the side of the house to the laundry room where Michael went to the cupboard with the false back. He opened the safe, put the gun case in, and spun the tumblers.
When the safe was locked again, Michael and Javier just stood looking at each other for a minute. It was like they were having a silent prayer meeting together, they were both so intense.
Michael spoke first, “Thanks for taking care of Tony. You’ve always got our backs. Anything we can do to help you and your family?”
My jaw dropped but neither of them noticed. Was he inviting Javier and the whole Rodrigues family to move in with us? Javier’s eyes glistened. “Michael, you are a credit to your father. Our home is secure and we have good food supplies.”
He paused for a minute as if he was imagining his house. He shook his head slightly. “The boys are upset about everything, the quake, the injured deer, Alex shooting Tony. Alex hasn’t stopped crying since the accident.” Javier swallowed. “The only thing is water. I was going to restock our supplies but I never got around to it. We’ve been so prepared for so long, I just thought it wasn’t so important any longer. I thought the quake was never going to happen.”
Michael said. “You’ve always been there when I had things that I couldn’t take to Tony. This is my chance to help you. You know we’ve got lots of water in our tanks so I’m pretty certain we won’t need the bottled water too. Come and see Aladdin’s cave.”
Just like that Michael took the key from its hiding spot behind the washer and unlocked that door to the steep stairs that led down to Tony’s doomsday cache. He put his hand on Javier’s shoulder and said, “Mi casa es su casa.”
Without a word, Javier followed him into the hidden cellar that I knew by heart: a large freezer ran the length of one wall. The other three walls were fitted with shelves from the floor to the ceiling. One entire wall was stacked with every type of canned and dried food that could be bought in bulk. Along another wall, mason jars of home preserves were lined up in order of date and food type. I’d memorized it during all the times I’d stacked shelves and done stock rotation with Tony. Still it was meant to be top secret, only known by family members. I chewed my lip and sorted the sun-dried laundry.
Being an honorary uncle made Javier family, I decided. Tony and he had fished and hunted together for years. Sometimes Tony called Javier “the little brother I never had” and I’d always referred to him as Uncle Javier. But Javier hadn’t followed Tony’s rule about preparation or he wouldn’t need any of our stuff. Maybe Tony was always on my case for a reason. He wanted me to be ready for the worst, even if others weren’t.
When they emerged, the deep furrows in Javier’s face had softened and he didn’t look quite so lost. He carried a flat of water under each arm. “Thanks,” he said. “You’re a true friend.”
“Seriously, Uncle Javier, we’ll be fine. You can trust me, you know that, don’t you?” Michael looked into Javier’s dark brown eyes. A spark of affection fired between them. Their bond was formed before I was born, before Javier had sons of his own.
“I hope my boys turn out as well as you have. I can’t believe you’ve got another full scholarship this year,” Javier said that like it was a fresh bulletin, like it wasn’t this summer’s endless news loop.
I trailed behind them to the gate thinking about how disasters were supposed to bring people together. Somehow it felt like Michael and Javier were pushing me away from the fire, from the warmth of their special friendship. I thought about the bright green Kawasaki and wished I’d bought it when I had the chance. Then I’d get on it and ride to some place safe and friendly, away from these guys and their secret handshakes.
As if he read my thoughts, Javier stopped, put down a flat of water and hugged me with one arm. He smelled of sweat and blood. His unshaved face rubbed sandpaper-rough against my cheek. I stepped away and he shook hands with Michael. Then he pulled him close and held him for a minute. When they broke apart, Javier slipped into the street. He called over his shoulder, “Be strong. Tony is counting on you to look after this place. Keep it ready for when he comes home.”
I waited until Javier was at the end of the cul-de-sac. Michael and I retreated to the porch, and I chose my words carefully. “Was it my imagination or did he seem more worried than he let on?”
“He seemed deeply worried.”
“About Tony d’you think?”
“No, not so much about Tony. He’s in the hospital and was probably in one of the first waves of casualties brought in so I’m guessing he got lots of attention, way more than if he’d been hurt now. Tony’ll be okay.” Michael trotted up the front stairs and I followed. “But Uncle Javier’s got a lot to worry about. You know how young his kids are. I had to help him for their sake.”
“Understood. I think Tony might’ve done the same. But it looks like things are pretty bad out there. Maybe Tony had a reason for wanting to hang onto what he’s got stored here.”
“Javier’s Tony’s best friend,” Michael said like that was the end of the discussion. He stretched across the plastic loveseat.
I sat in the rocker, rubbing the smooth wood of the armrests with my hands. “Fine. But there are two of us here, guarding the fort. How about in future we talk about who we give stuff too. You know, keep it democratic?”
“Don’t think so. I’m in charge so I’ll make the decisions. For the last couple of years, Uncle Javier’s been more of a father to me than Tony has. He doesn’t expect me to live my life for him.”
“Forget Uncle Javier. He’s your friend. I get that. He’s also the closest to family that we have in Vancouver. But what about other people? Who else might we want to help that Tony might not agree with? We’ve got to make some decisions together, especially big ones like giving stuff away.”
“Not according to Tony.” He grinned. “I was only second-in-command before. Now I’m the boss, little sister. Get used to it.”
I didn’t want to see his smug face so I marched down the stairs to the back yard and checked on the chickens. One grey straggler pecked away at the dirt, making low gurgling noises in her throat. The others had already settled into the house for the night and with a little nudge, the last hen joined them. I closed the door and locked them into their safe little world.
I needed time alone to think. Always happy Javier was anxious and tense. I’d known him my entire life and never seen him zoned-out and troubled like tonight. I worried about what Javier wasn’t saying, about Tony and everything else on the outside. Seeing him fearful was seeing the world turned upside down. But I was ready for that upheaval; Tony had helped me prepare. Now Tony wasn’t there to watch me and it seemed more important than ever to learn from what he had taught me.
Only 8:15 and there wasn’t much light left. The days were shrinking fast and an occasional yellow leaf floated down like the first snow. Soon the birds would disappear with the warm sunshine. There’d be nothing ahead but winter’s darkness. Summer was dying. What was dying with it?