While it was true that Thad hadonce stitched up my head, because he was so drunk that he forgotthat I would self-heal in minutes, the rest of it was hogwash. Iwas my way of poking Thaddeus with the blood-infused joke. Onlydays earlier, we had a meeting of the minds as I sensed he washaving some trepidation about moving his family.
"You know you're going to have tomove once they turn 18, because there's no way I'm going to live inHooterville," I said internally to Thad as I walked on thebeach.
"Hartwell, is that you? he askedas he rode on his tractor in the field.
"Yes, it's me Thaddeus. Are youriding a tractor?"
He laughed, "Its' actually quitepleasurable. At least for the first hour or two."
Thad then paused before asking,"What am I going to tell her, Thomas?"
I didn't hesitate, "Tell her thatan old friend offered you a job at a blood bank on the EastCoast."
"A blood bank?! he questioned. "Ofall the things, why a blood bank?"
"You are good with blood," Ireplied, reliving a few moments when Thad had done me in with hissword.
Thad obviously was clued into thesame highlight reel, because he smiled and replied, "I can't arguewith that! Will I actually have to do the job?"
This time I laughed, "We both knowyou don't need the income! Besides, you can tell her that you workthe night shift and then sleep the whole day."
Thad nodded his head in approval,"That is brilliant! I barely get to sleep with all of the activityon this farm. How do you think my kids will adjust?"
The question was two-fold, so Iattacked one part at a time.
"There are plenty of greatcolleges on the East Coast, and I think they'll adjust in no time.Those two appear to be fairly adventuresome. I think we will be theones have the bigger adjustment, not you. Besides, there is anabundance of financial institutions with a lot more money thatthose rural banks you withdraw from."
Thad replied, "Man's gotta' make aliving and provide for his family. We all do what we have to inorder to survive."
"No, doubt, Thad! See you when Isee you," I said in order to extract myself from the conversationand any remaining emotional ties before the battles resumed. It wasimpossible to go 100% when your were fond of theopposition.
"See you soon, Thomas. Thanks forthe job referral," he stated.
MOVE
Thaddeus found a proper colonialhouse a safe distance from the beach and just down the street froma blood bank where he was supposedly working. It was also adjacentto three banks that had a quite liberal withdrawalpolicy.
"When can we go to the beach?!"and excited Cal asked his father.
Thaddeus wasn't responding,because all he could think was "You'll be there soon enough, andyou probably won't like it!"
Emily noticed that her father wasnot responding to her brother, so she decided to whine to hermother instead, "Mom, it's so hot! Can we go to thebeach?"
And then the twins smiled and saidin unison, "Please!"
Thaddeus looked at Mary and sheknew he wanted nothing to do with the outing, so she said, "Okay,get your things and we'll go."
Thad knew the kids would befearful only hours from their 18th birthday. What they didn't knowwas that a battle would take place that night, which would probablyland them back on the beach in an unfavorable position. Theskillful hunter followed his family to the beach in order toconform his suspicions. Mary sat in the sand near the shore whileEmily and Cal frantically removed their t-shirts and shorts. Theyran to the water, but stopped short as a wave pushed water closerto them. Instead of dipping their toes in the ocean they did whatany prospective hunter would do, they ran away!
Thaddeus smiled as his wife yelledat her kids, "What's wrong with you two? The water won'tbite!"
Mary backed up her claim bygetting up and walking right into the water, which splashed up toher knees.
"See, it's absolutelyrefreshing!"
Cal looked at Emily and shereturned his petrified stare. Thaddeus had never seen fear in theeyes of his children and thought the new emotion was a welcomedchange from their usual non-stop advancement. They were sofrightened and unsure of themselves that they ran all the way home.Thaddeus walked up to the beach and handed his wife a towel to dryoff her legs. He turned around and picked up his children'st-shirts and shorts and then put his arm around his wife, "Lookslike we get to spend a lot more alone time on thebeach."
Like so many sleeping beach townsin the 1960s, downtown Virginia Beach went dark after midnight withthe surf revealing the only activity. That was, until, I stood infront of my modest beachside home and was soon joined by Garrisonand his daughter Sharon. All Gary had to was to say to Sharon, "Wegotta' go," and she excitedly followed him like a puppy dog. EloisePhillips was usually asleep by 10:15 p.m. and nothing short of anatural disaster could interrupt her slumber.
I nodded to Gary and he lookedready, but his daughter had a broad smile on her face, which toldme that she would be an interesting ally for years tocome.
Across town, where the spray ofthe ocean could not be seen or heard, Thaddeus was having a moredifficult time convincing his kids that they would not be goinganywhere near water. His wife was also a heavy sleeper as fatewould have it, so he was able to speak freely without worryingabout the need to explain himself. I never talked to Gary and Thadabout it, but they never talked to their wives about was was goingon after midnight in all the years we were together. At least aslong as the mortal women were alive.
"We are not going back to theocean," Thad said to the twins even though he knew that wasn't theabsolute truth.
"Are you sure?" Emilyasked.
"Yeah, that water was reallycold!" Cal complained, in a rare display of weakness.
I thought for a few days about thelocation of our first battle, and then sent internal instructionsto Thaddeus after coming to a decision.
"Meet us at the townsquare."
The town square had multipleaccess points and an old fountain in the shadows of the adjacentarea.
"Hey, we're going
