speech denouncing Israel, just as soon as the news gets out about the new virus.”
“Have her do it now, then he won’t have to even mention the new virus,” Tomlin suggested.
“Right. We’ll do it that way. General Newman, do you have anything else to add?”
“We’re set, Mr. President. You’ve already given me the authorization to strike immediately if any country threatens to attack us during this crisis and you’ve warned all the nuclear powers what will happen if they even think about using those weapons. All we have to do now is sit tight, wait for the blacks to finish dying, then be ready to go wherever it will do us the most good. I think we should even consider some of the South American countries. They’re going to lose almost as high a percentage of their population as we are. Lots of dark skinned South Americans. And the Caribbean—just think of it. We’ll have a free reign there, what with the blacks no longer in control.”
The president looked puzzled for a moment, then his face lit up. “Yes, that’s right! Jamaica and so forth.
They’re mostly black, aren’t they?”
“And the Bahamas and a lot of Cubans. It’s about time Cuba got taken down a peg, I don’t care what the treaty says.”
“Right. Edgar, why don’t you and Lurline get together and go over our homeland security problems and get the planners working on South America and the Caribbean. I’d like to talk to the general a while longer about some weapons development we’ve been postponing far too long.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Doug fumbled with the plastic bags of goods he had bought while filling up the car with gas, wondering where June was. She hadn’t answered the bell when he rang to get her to help with the packages. Finally he set two of them down and took out his key to unlock the door. Inside, he found no sign of June. He was beginning to panic when he saw the typed note pasted on the refrigerator door, the first place she knew he would look upon arriving. He set the bags on the counter and read it.
(three hearts)
J
He felt his heart soften as he read the note and saw the carefully drawn hearts. A sense of love and protectiveness swept over him, making him realize that he would do almost anything to make her happy and keep her safe. He also knew his feelings weren’t just a reaction to a new love. The emotion that engulfed him when he thought of her was like nothing he had experienced before, not even with Doris.
Perhaps it takes a mature person to really appreciate what love is, he thought. That, and someone who reciprocated the love, as June so obviously did, even agreeing to marriage so soon after meeting, if that was what he wanted. Another wave of love and… what was it? Admiration, that was it. Love and admiration was what he was feeling. All his experience with her so far made him think she was as near to perfect as a woman could get. It also caused him wonder how he managed to get so lucky.
He was still standing there, staring at the note with the door open behind him, when June arrived. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t hear her as she entered, nor see her as she stood and watched while he read the note again and again. It was such a simple thing, but the little hand drawn hearts she had added to it touched him in a way that a more explicit expression of love might not have. He took the note down, kissed the hearts, then folded it carefully and put it in his billfold.
The sound of June sniffing back tears announced her presence to him. He turned and saw twin streaks of wetness on her cheeks where the teardrops had made a path down to her chin. One of them was still hanging there. It dropped away as her chin quivered.
Doug had no idea she had been watching him. “June! What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all, you sweet dummy. Come here.”
He moved toward her and she came into his arms, then hugged him so tight he feared she might crack a rib. He heard her sobbing and finally it dawned on him that she must have watched him kissing the note.
“June, sweetheart, I…”
“Don’t say another word,” she murmured against his chest, where he could feel her tears wetting his fatigue top. “A moment later she said “You just touched me where I live. Know what?”
“What?”
“I think I’m going to keep you.”
June added extra pepperoni and sausage to the frozen pizza to liven it up, while Doug poured a coming-home drink for each of them from a liter of Jim Beam, the only bourbon he could find to use up their liquor ration. He knew they were using the last pizza, too. As soon as she had the food in the oven, she sat down next to Doug. She felt for his hand, found it and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. A moment of quiet passed before she said anything.
“You know, that was so sweet, kissing that silly little note then saving it.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, liking the sense of comfort she felt being so near him.
“I guess I’m sentimental. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“I’m glad you did.” She pulled away from him far enough to see his face. “Do you still want to get married?”
“Of course I do.” He squeezed her hand.
“Then let’s do it tomorrow. I’m scared you might get away.”
“No chance of that. But I don’t know a pastor. Do you?”
“No, but I could ask around if that’s what you want. What denomination?”
“June, sweetheart, I guess I should tell you, I’m not very religious. Well, actually, I’m not religious at all.”
She laughed. “My, the things you learn about a man when you have him cornered. As it turns out, I’m not either. You were in the military, though. You should know a military officer can perform a marriage under martial law.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Now I have to confess. I checked into it. An officer can waive the blood tests and waiting period, too.”
It was Doug’s turn to laugh. “I’ve not only been cornered, I’ve been roped and branded.”
June set her drink down and pulled his head down to kiss him. “Just roped. The branding comes tomorrow. After that, you’re mine.”
“And you’re mine, too. Why do I feel like I just won the lottery?”
June’s expression suddenly went from happy to concerned as she looked at him, his face only inches from hers. “Oh gosh. Seeing you with that note distracted me. You may not feel like you won the lottery after I tell you what Amelia was in Washington for.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s another virus. This time it’s targeting Arabs.”
“So that’s why Israel started a war. I wondered about that, when the Arabs were going to lose a fair percentage of their population anyway. I suppose they started the virus, huh?”
“We don’t know, but it’s likely. The virologists have been working on some samples flown here for the last week or so. It’s definitely a bug that’s been altered but they haven’t sorted out its mechanism yet, how it works. Doug, has the whole world gone crazy? Is someone going to loose a virus targeting whites next? Or Redheads? Or… or left handed Armenians, for God’s sake!”
Doug pulled her to him again, trying to absorb the new calamity. His thoughts ranged wildly but kept coming back to how he could protect her—and was dismayed that he could find no answer.
“Sweetheart, I guess something like this was inevitable once the genie escaped from the bottle and I don’t
