A
braham landed flat on top of Smoke. The recliner tipped over backward. The men rolled over the floor, over the top of one another.
“Stop it!” Mandi yelled. “Stop it, Abraham!”
Her words did not register with Abraham. All his frustrations had come to the surface. All the doubt and anger swelled up inside and came out. He locked his arms around Smoke’s waist and slung the man into the wall.
Smoke rolled up onto his feet and hunkered down with his fingers clutching outward. “Come on, big fella.”
“John, don’t goad him!” Sid ordered.
Abraham lowered his shoulder and attacked like a charging bull.
Smoke braced himself for impact.
Abraham slammed him into the limestone block wall. A clock hanging on the wall fell to the ground, and its casing cracked. He kept shoving Smoke back into the wall.
Smoke’s corded arms flexed. He coiled his arms around Abraham’s waist and slung him aside.
Abraham stumbled backward. He lost his footing and crashed into the coffee table. Two of the legs of the table snapped.
Mandi hopped up onto the edge of the sofa. “Stop it, you two idiots! Stop it!”
In a moment, Abraham rolled onto his feet and rushed Smoke again. The fire in his blood was racing. He was mad—mad at everything, mad at the mad, mad world he’d been thrust into. He tipped his shoulder, stopped, and threw a hard punch at Smoke’s face.
Smoke blocked the strong punch with his deft hands. The punch still grazed his face.
Abraham started whaling away on Smoke. He brought his hands down like hammers. The hard blows knocked through Smoke’s defenses. He connected with chin and nose. He slapped his head into Smoke’s mouth.
“Have you gone mad?” Mandi yelled. “Abraham, stop this! Stop this now! Listen to me!”
Her words were drowned out by the tide of anger rushing behind his ears. He kept hitting harder and harder.
Smoke snaked his head away from the heavy punches. He caught Abraham around the waist and held him chest to chest. “Go ahead! Let it out!” Smoke said fiercely in Abraham’s ear. “Let it out!”
Abraham beat Smoke’s back like a drum. He whaled on the man like a gorilla beating his chest. “I’ve had enough! I’ve had enough! How do I know this is real?” He hit again and again. “How do I know that you aren’t one of them?” He kept at it. “How do I know? How do I know?”
“You have to have faith,” Smoke said. “It’s all you got. You’re a good man. Don’t let the enemy take that from you!”
Abraham’s long arms turned to lead. The strength in his limbs failed. His last punches had no weight behind them. He sagged into Smoke’s shoulder and sobbed. “I’m sorry.” He let out another wet sob.
“Don’t be.” Smoke led Abraham to the couch and sat him down beside Mandi. He put a strong hand on Abraham’s shoulder and said, “You’ve been at war. It happens to the best of them. Let it out. Have a good cry.”
He let out a shuddering breath, straightened his back, and said, “Henchmen don’t cry.”
Smoke wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and added, “Maybe not, but they sure can hit.” He gave Abraham a firm slap on the back. “How about an ice-cold Coke.”
Abraham nodded. He looked between Mandi and Sid and said, “I’m sorry. I bet you think I’m nuts. And why wouldn’t you? I think I’m nuts.”
Laying a gentle hand on his back, Mandi said, “I always liked the crazy ones.”
He choked out a laugh.
Smoke handed him a Coke.
Sid got out of her chair and said, “John, let’s give the two of them some privacy. Plus, I need to get out of these clothes.” She held up a palm. “Don’t say it.”
“Say what?” He picked up a pizza and followed her back to their bedroom and closed the door.
Abraham lifted his eyes to Mandi’s. “Look at me, sitting here and sobbing like a baby.”
“Now isn’t the time to doubt yourself. We are getting close to the end. I can feel it. I don’t know why, but I do.” She reached across Abraham’s legs, grabbed the remote, and turned off the TV. “That’s better. I think you need some Yacht Rock radio.” She dusted the hair out of his eyes. “You need to mellow.”
“Huh. Easier said than done. You look great, by the way.”
“Thanks.” She held his hand. “You sure are full of surprises.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you attacked Smoke? I didn’t see that coming.” She put his head over her chest. “Feel it. My heart’s still racing.”
He felt the rapid beat of her heart under his fingers. Her perfumed scent wafted under his nose. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Oh, it didn’t scare me. I liked seeing you come alive like that. You gave Smoke a fit. That surprised me. But he handled it well.” She kissed his cheek. “It’s going to be okay, Abraham. I believe in you. You keep believing in yourself. I know in my heart you are doing the right thing. You should know it too.”
“How do I know that my heart is right? Maybe I’ve been wrong about everything. Like that zillon said.”
“You mean the alien woman? Ottum?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, Smoke told us about her. Now, that gave me goose bumps. But let me tell you, Sid and Smoke have let me in on the stuff they’ve seen. I believe it’s real. Stuff like that hides in the dark and wears many disguises.” She kissed his hand. “Do you want to know how I know that you are a good guy?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
“You never hit on me, and I get hit on all of the time. That’s what got my attention. And you looked like a big ol’ teddy bear.” She gave him a warm smile. “There was something gentle about you and something broken too. I don’t know, but I just knew that you were, well, my kind of guy. My mom, you know, Martha, always told me to find a sweet man. I never listened. My relationships were one drama fest after another.”
“And this isn’t drama?”
“Well, this is different. You are sweet, Abe, and this is crazy, but I just know that you are a special man. It’s not all of this excitement that turns me on like a dreamy-eyed schoolgirl lusting after the latest hottie in Tiger Beat
magazine. There is something deeper, a spark that I felt. Didn’t you feel it too?”
“I suppose, but I’d never admitted it. Because, you know, I felt guilty.” He frowned. “I always feel like I let them down.”
She wiped her eyes and sniffed. “I’m ashamed to say this, but I did my homework on you. Everything about that accident says that it wasn’t your fault. You need to believe it too.”
“I try,” he said, “but no matter how hard it is, I can’t. I think that might be why I like Titanuus. There, I don’t have to think about it.”
