I looked out over the cornfield. “Looks like the corn is about ready to harvest.”
Cecil nodded and shaded his eyes to look out across the field. “Yes, it is!” He said with pride. “We’ll have to get some folks out here soon to get it all picked.” He walked out into the field and pulled an ear from a stalk and peeled the husk back. Inside was a beautiful golden ear of corn. He took a bite of it and smiled, juice dripping down his chin. “Oh yeah. It’s about ready.”
“That’s a whole lot of food,” I said.
“We’ll pick some now, to eat fresh. The rest we’ll leave to dry on the stalk,” Cecil said. “This really isn’t fit to eat fresh, but it’ll be a nice change.”
I took the ear from him and took a bite. “It’s sweet.” Looking up, I added, “But it is tough.”
Cecil nodded. “It’s something different, so it don’t taste so bad. But you wouldn’t want to eat a bunch of it.”
“Gimme that thing,” Sarge said, holding his hand out. I handed him the ear and he took a bite. Nodding as he chewed the tough kernels, he said, “Yeah. I wouldn’t want to have to live on the stuff.”
“Hey, Cecil, we’re going up to Alexander Springs tomorrow,” I said, “you should go with us.”
He thought about it for a minute. “I’d like to. But I don’t have any way to get out there.” He slapped the tractor and said, “It’d be a long ride on this thing.”
“Damn right it would,” I said with a laugh. “How about I come pick you up in the morning.”
He smiled that broad toothy smile again. “That’d be fine. I’d like that. A change of scenery would be really nice.”
“Bring some shorts and you can go for a swim,” Sarge said.
Cecil laughed. “I don’t own any short pants. And I ain’t done no swimming in a long time. But I’d be happy to sit on the side of the spring and soak my feet.”
Sarge smiled, “That sounds like a deal. We’ll collect you in the morning.” We said goodbye and headed back to the Hummer.
“I think this will be good, taking a break from things,” I said as we headed back towards the ranch.
The old man nodded. “Some down time would be good. But I’m sending Mike and Teddy out to put an eyeball on those commies. In a day or so, we’ll hit ‘em.”
“That should piss Mike off,” I replied with a laugh.
Sarge looked over at me and smiled, “Good.”
I was dropped off at the house and went inside. Mel and the all the kids were sitting in the living room, passing the little squirrel around. An eye dropper sat on the table with a small cup, a little formula still in it.
“How’s he doing?” I asked when I came in.
“He was really hungry!” Little Bit shouted.
“Did he eat a lot?”
Mel looked up, “Yes he did. I think he’ll be fine. I need a cage for him.”
“I’ll see what I can find,” I answered, thinking that was one more thing I’d have to deal with. “Tomorrow, we’re going to Alexander Springs for the day. I think we could all use a day to swim and relax.”
“Really?” Taylor asked. I nodded, and she clapped her hands as she got up. “I need to go find a bathing suit!”
Lee Ann, not as much into swimming as her sister, surprised me when she too jumped up to go find something to wear. Little Bit was the most excited, as little kids usually were; and she jumped around the living room with exuberant anticipation.
“What time are we leaving?” Mel asked.
I shrugged, “I don’t know. When everyone is ready, I guess.”
“Are we taking food?”
“I think Thad was going to take some meat to grill or something.”
Mel stood up and put the little limb rat in a box. “I’ll go talk to Kay and see what we can come up with.”
She took Little Bit and they headed next door, leaving me alone in the living room. With everyone now occupied, I decided to go find Mike. Leaving the house, I walked towards the home he shared with Ted, Ronnie and Sarge. The dogs labored to their feet and trotted after me as I walked down the driveway toward the road.
It was a scorching hot day. The sun was high in the cloudless sky. As I walked, sweat began to run down my neck and back. I was already regretting taking the walk. I looked back to see the dogs standing in the road panting. I guess they were smarter than I was because they lingered in the road for a moment, then Meat Head turned and headed back to the house. Drake was immediately on his trail. I laughed and thought of Little Sister as I continued to walk in the direction of the bunker.
Summer days in Florida can be miserable. When the humidity gets up and the temps rise, you’ll sweat like a lawyer in hell; but it doesn’t evaporate, just pools up on your skin until it either soaks everything you’re wearing or drips off. Either way, it really sucks. I tugged at the plate carrier, trying to get some air under it. But doing so allowed the incredible funk that always built up under it to escape and I turned my head to gasp for an unpolluted breath. Shit, that stinks! I muttered to myself.
Imagine wearing the same gym clothes every day, all day, and working out to the max. That would give you an idea of what it was like. Oh, and you never washed any of it. Yeah, now you’re getting the picture. I felt for all the people that ever served in any of our desert wars for what they had to endure.
I found Wallner in a lounge chair under the tarp of at the rear of the bunker. He was stripped down to his waist and sweat covered
