“Has your back. You’re a very lucky man, Cid.”
“To sum things up… I still see myself as a fat blind kid who loves to cook, read, and believes in the paranormal. I have seen things that I still don’t understand. But I have learned on my years on Earth that a good friend is gold, but a wife and family are platinum and worth fighting for.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Garrett. I’m an Army veteran who has PTSD which frequently manifests in an overactive fight or flight response. I fear our country is becoming a place that won’t accept the children I want to bring into it. I’m going to change the world because that’s what heroes do. I just don’t know how to do it yet.”
Cid pulled the truck off the road. He turned to Sally. “I promise to help you, even if you put me on the just friends list.”
“I’m not innocent. I’ve had lovers. But I’ve never been in love,” Sally said, locking her blue eyes with Cid’s brown ones.
“I’m afraid of intimacy because of being ridiculed as a kid. Be gentle with me.”
Sally melted. She crawled across the seat and into Cid’s lap, put her hands on either side of his face, and drew him in for a kiss. “We’ll take things slow,” she promised him when their lips parted.
“Not too slow,” Cid said and kissed her again.
~
Carl and Wayne were forced to call it a day at four. Faye sensed the ghosts gathering power and hustled the contractors above ground and then out of the house. Fortunately for them, the two men had a good idea of what they were up against.
“Kiki, we’ve got measurements and the information we need to precut and prefab,” Wayne reported. “It’s a bitch down there. If it’s not the natural atmosphere eating the light, I fear it’s the ghosts drawing the power away. With your permission, I’d like to have more than Carl and me down there when we are ready to install the pipes and update the furnace and fuses.”
“Yes, of course,” Kiki said. “I’m depending on you to tell me when we need to abandon ship. I don’t want any of you hurt on my watch. Speaking of watch, how did Faye perform?”
“Magnificently. She’s a mother hen at times, but I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”
“Where’s Sally?” Carl asked walking over.
“I sent her with Cid to pick up a refrigerator and kitchen supplies. I imagine Cid’s got to take the local routes because of the refrigerator in the back.”
“Cid’s a good guy. Just don’t send her off with Gary or Jesse,” Carl said.
“I think Sally can handle herself,” Kiki said.
“I know she can. I was worried about Gary and Jesse,” Carl said and roared with laughter. “Did you know Sally has a black belt in I’m-not-taking-any-shit-from-you?”
“I bet there are a few stories attached to that,” Wayne said.
“She was a gentle little thing before the Army,” Carl said. “After…”
They heard Kiki’s truck pull up, and the three exited the building.
Cid backed the truck as close as possible to the garage doors. Cid didn’t have to round up the troops to help him. They came out of the carriage house as if on cue. Cid took a back seat and let Kiki and Sally run the show. He was happy he ended up on grocery duty instead of hauling the refrigerator up the stairs duty. After the bags were sorted, he ran down the stairs and over to the trailer. He checked his watch and knew it may be too late to call Ted, but he did anyway.
“This better be good, we just got the kids to sleep,” Ted growled.
“I found the one,” Cid said.
“You’re kidding. Minnie Mouse, Cid’s got a girlfriend.”
Cid heard Mia wrestle for the phone. The Martins compromised and put it on speaker.
“Tell us,” Mia pleaded.
“Her name is Sally Wright and…” Cid spilled his guts.
The Martins stayed quiet until he was finished. Mia broke their stunned silence. “Lucky her, lucky you,” she said.
“To quote Ted the first time he met you, Mia, ‘She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to be the mother of my children.’”
“Whoa,” Mia said. “I’m so happy for you. Now I’m going to be counting the days until we can get back in country.”
“Take it slow, don’t scare her away. It took me a long time to reel in Mia,” Ted suggested.
“I’m not a fish,” Mia said. “Don’t treat Sally like a trout, Cid.”
“Yes, Mia.”
“If this works out, Ted and I will go into therapy, so don’t worry about us. Your happiness is very important to us.”
Cid smiled. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I had to tell my best friends.”
“Call anytime,” Mia said.
“Not anytime,” Ted said.
Cid heard Mia smack Ted’s shoulder.
“Ouch. Call anytime,” Ted said.
“I will. Goodbye, send my love to all.”
“Will do, goodbye,” Mia said.
Ted just hung up.
Jesse entered the trailer carrying Cid’s forgotten groceries and a basil plant. He set the canvas bags down and walked over and felt Cid’s forehead.
“Hey, leave me alone,” Cid said.
“I’m just checking to see if you’re sick. You left your stuff in the back of Kiki’s truck.”
“Oh, sorry. I wanted to call the Martins before it was too late.”
Jesse smiled. “The call wouldn’t have anything to do with the silly smile Sally has on her face would it?”
“I let her know that I was very interested in courting her.”
“Maybe you should give Carl a heads-up too,” Jesse suggested. “That way he’ll stop giving me and Gary the evil eye.”
“I didn’t think. Honestly, I didn’t think she was interested.
