I was under the hood of the Suburban reconnecting the batteries. Focusing on what I was doing, I wasn’t paying much attention to anything else and that’s why I didn’t hear Dalton’s big ass walk up behind me until he whispered, practically in my ear, “What are you doing, Morgan?”
I jumped, banging my elbow on the hinge of the hood. “Son of a bitch!” I shouted. “Why the hell are you sneaking up on me?”
Dalton shrugged, “I wasn’t sneaking. I just walked up. A train could sneak up on your ass. You really should work on that, you know.”
Rubbing my elbow, I shook my head. “I’m going to hang a cow bell around your neck.”
He smiled, “That’s what the world needs, more cow bells.”
Turning my attention back to the battery I was connecting, I asked, “What the hell do you want?”
“How’s the vinegar doing?”
“It ain’t ready yet.”
“Have you checked it?”
I shook my head. “No. It ain’t ready yet.”
“I want to check it.”
“Then go check it,” I replied, annoyed. My elbow was throbbing. Wasn’t a damn thing funny about it.
Dalton looked at the house. “Is Mel in there?”
“No, she and the girls are over at Danny’s.”
“Alright. I’m gonna go check it out.”
“I’ll be done in a minute and I’ll meet you inside.”
Dalton wandered off towards the house and I wrapped up connecting the battery. Once it was reconnected, I checked the other one to make sure it was also good and climbed in behind the wheel of the truck. Holding my breath, I turned the key. The truck turned over a couple of times before catching. The old Cummins rumbled in its typical way, blowing some smoke for a bit before settling down to a smooth idle. Satisfied that the truck would run, for a while anyway, I shut it off. Closing the hood, I headed for the house.
Dalton had the cheese cloth off the big crock. He was on his knees looking down into it, a finger in his mouth. “How is it?” I asked.
Without looking up, he replied, “Tastes like shit.”
“Shit like vinegar? Or shit like shit?”
“It’s sour. But it ain’t vinegar. Not yet anyway.”
“I told you it wasn’t ready yet.”
He pulled the cheese cloth back over the open top and stretched my homemade rubber band around it. Standing up, he looked down at the crock. “This chemistry crap isn’t that much fun.”
I patted his back and said, “It’s like the old Heinz commercials, patience.”
He looked over his shoulder at me, “I ain’t got any.”
I laughed. “Yeah, me neither.”
We walked back outside. I had some tools to put away. “What are you going to do today?”
Dalton stopped and looked up into the trees. “Not much. Nothing really planned. I was over at the old man’s place this morning and he’s in a bitchy mood.”
“About what?”
He shrugged, “Something on the radio. Said it sounds like there are other units operating in the area and he’s trying to figure out who the hell they are and why he doesn’t know about them.”
I laughed. “That old fucker needs to relax.”
As we talked, Aric pulled up on a four-wheeler. “Nice wagon,” Dalton said.
Aric looked over his shoulder and replied, “I like it.”
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Thad was going to come help me get the water tank up on the roof of the house. I stopped by his place but didn’t see him.”
“Did you knock on the door?” I asked.
“No. I didn’t want to bother them. Ya know.”
I laughed. “You got a point there.”
“Yeah, you already got the prize out of your box. He’s probably still eating cereal,” Dalton added.
Aric and I looked at one another, then I slowly turned to look at Dalton. “What in the hell are we talking about?”
Dalton looked at me, then at Aric. “You mean neither one of you knows what I mean? You don’t get it?”
I shrugged, “I get it. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Dalton looked at Aric and asked, “Do you get it?”
Shrugging, Aric replied, “Kinda.”
Dalton shook his head. “You people are hopeless.”
“Right now, I’m waterless. Can you guys come help me get the tanks up there?”
“Sure, why not,” I said. “We’re not doing anything right now.”
Dalton looked at Aric, “Chemistry is a slow process.”
Aric looked at me for more. “Ignore Gigantor this morning. He’s off his meds.”
We were at Aric’s house working on the tanks when Thad showed up. We’d already managed to get the two barrels on the roof and were cutting a piece of plywood to make a platform for them. A two-by-four would be screwed to the plywood on the down slope side to give the barrels a flat place on the roof.
“Well, well, look who’s finally out of bed!” I shouted down from the roof.
Thad smiled and waved as he climbed out of the little red truck. “Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late. I got tied up.”
Dalton was leaned over the piece of plywood about to cut it with a Skill Saw as a small Honda generator hummed in the background. He straightened up when he heard Thad.
“I didn’t know Mary was into that kind of thing. Who gets tied up, you or her?” Dalton belly-laughed.
Aric and I both started to laugh. I whistled loudly from the roof, just to add to Thad’s embarrassment. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped. Instead, he just put his face in his hands and shook his head. This, of course, got us to laughing even harder.
“Don’t worry about them, Thad,” Dalton said. Sensing some relief, Thad looked up and smiled before Dalton continued. “I can teach you some knots if you need.”
Aric and I both started to laugh again, and Thad shook his head. “You boys is a mess!”
“What’s all
