“  Tug lost by twelve votes. “  Kathy Vickers said in a low, sad voice, turning away from the television screen for the first time since the polls closed and the local channel started tallying votes and suggesting who’d won or lost by the number of votes already counted.  “  You took second place as a strictly write-in candidate, Brea.  “

            “  For Sheriff?  Why would anyone think I’d make a good Sheriff? I’m afraid of guns and loud noises in the dark, and I absolutely hate confrontation!  “

            Diane turned around in the chair with a big grin on her face.

            “  Not for Sheriff, for the City Council seat left vacant by John T’s heart attack in February. I really wanted to sell the house, so to drum interest, I told Bill and Drew that you were planning to run for office to promote Ecology and stuff. It worked didn’t it?  “  She said with a shrug,. “ he came out here ready to buy your house just so you wouldn’t be eligible!  “

            “  What did I say or do to make you think that was acceptable? I’d bur this place down and all the memories with it before I’d let Drew ___________ gets his filthy mitts on it!  “

            “  How was I to know you’d changed so much? You two were flypaper and glue in high school!  “  Diane demanded, in wounded dignity. “  I assumed you were going to get together again!  “

            Brenda had to race for the back bathroom but she made no attempt to assuaged the heavy set woman’s concern that it was something she’d said that caused the sudden pale and ugly sound of retching echoing down the narrow hall.

            “  Look on the bright side. You got eighty-seven votes! You would have had eighty-eighty if I could have gotten the free time to vote. “

            “  But I’m not even a candidate!  “

            “  Look how many votes you would have gotten if you were! It’s something to think about!  “  Diane answered in an ‘I told you so’ tone of voice.

            A wave of anger and fear rose up and overwhelmed as she turned away, catching the strange look that passed between the other two women.

            “   Well, look what time it is!  “  Diane said in an overly dramatic voice, making a point of looking at her wristwatch. “  I got a son to feed. “  She stretched as if her life depended on it. “  Well I guess I’d better go.  I rented a copy of “Jaws” in honor of  election night…   “

            “ The one about the shark, with all the teeth?  “ 

            It was the first time all night she’d really paid any attention to the conversation.

            “  Is there any other kind?  “ 

            Diane grunted with a teen-ager’s distain, as she grunted under her breath, pushing herself off the low-slung couch. “  I’m going to go home smelling like a dog!  “ 

            “  I’ve never seen it…  “   The younger woman said uneasily.

            “  Honey?  “  Diane replied archly. “  It came out in 1975!  “  Her voice rich with contempt.

            “  Yes, but I wasn’t born until 1980. “  Kathy admitted sheepishly, looking for some kind of excuse to leave no that she was going to be forced to be alone with her and her ‘moods’. “ And my brothers used to scare me with it. I could never get past where that naked girl is swimming alone and the shark comes up from underneath and takes several gulps to eat her!  “  She shuddered.

            Diane’s grin became wide in new sympathy an interest.

            “  Honey!  You are in for a treat! I LOVE getting scared! I don’t know who’ll scream the louder when t hat old shark comes all the way out of the water and unto the boat to get them as it’s sinking!  Get your coat! You’re coming with me!  Erle’s at Eddy Applegate’s house for a sleepover, he misses having his Dad in his life. We’ll stop off at the pizza place and get one of those ‘Brooklyn stuffed crusts’ pizzas? And scare ourselves silly. There’s three of them, you know?  “

“  Three sharks at the same time?  I thought there was only one! “  Kathy stammered, rapidly blinking her eyes in nervousness.

            “  Honey, I wasn’t that flexible when I was your age! No, there’s “JAWS” and two sequels, but the first one is the best!   Get your coat, it’s easier to show you than to explain.    

            Kathy leaped to her feet excitedly, not thinking how rude she was being unintentionally, She been bored to tears with the older women’s company all night, she just didn’t want to say anything about it!

            Diane followed Brenda back into the kitchen humming the ominous and instantly recognizable opening thriller under her breath.

            “  Look, Honey.  All night you’ve been as jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs! It’s like something you said to that slick bastard has made you stop trusting us, but believe me. We may be going about it the wrong way, but give us points for meaning well, obey?  “

            Brenda turned to face her with tears in her eyes.

            “  I thought I was handling it, then…Jeff…died…what if it’s all a plot? What if I’m going to lose everyone I ever loved? I almost have, you know!  “

            “  I know, remember?  We grew up together, I knew your Mom and dad, and I’d like to think that Jeff thought of me and Dwayne as friends too! There are people in the world planning to bomb and blow up things because of the sickness of hatred in their hearts, Nine Eleven showed that; we’ve got a few home grown bullies too, but Honey, to see things as a plot when its simply tragic accidents and the results of things that overwhelmed them, like Margie killing herself and those sweet babies! It makes me so mad I want to kill her, but I can’t! She’s already dead, you know? I get it!  “

            “  But if I were killed tomorrow, somebody would think that I just committed suicide, Di!  “

            “  Well, Tug would have.  “  Diane agreed with a shrug. “ But he lost by twelve votes tonight. Are you planning something like that? “

            “  No!  “  She shouted, with voice and gestures.

            “  Okay, deal! If you turn up dead tomorrow I’ll make sure the new Sheriff knows that it wasn’t anything you did. That’s settled! Now, tomorrow I’m not coming by until one o’clock…We meant well, but clearly, you need some time by yourself to get things in order in your own mind, Jeff’s suicide on top of everything else, has to be overwhelming, I understand. We meant well, but I promise, we’ll give you some space tomorrow.  You’ve been like a yo-yo the last few days, Brea, Honey. The baby and all. “

            “  Which reminds me, doesn’t the cow have to be milked twice a day?  “

            “  Not as long as her calf can get to her to suck! That’s only for commercial milk producers where they take the calf away and raise it by hand. I left plenty of food. The tourists won’t hang around the barn to notice all that, they just want the nostalgia of the animals, not the nausea from the smells…  They won’t starve. Besides, that’s why I left the calf on her. It’ll be old enough to butcher by the time I get the Bed and Breakfast up and running….Honey!  “  She added tenderly as Brenda’s boy began to shake uncontrollably with sobs. “  I saw your face! And that was even before we knew what was going to happen to…I still want to buy the house, the property is in escrow, but I can start it two years from now when Erle graduates high school as I can two months from now!…Get a bite to eat. Take a hot bath. Sleep in. We’ll see you tomorrow…or the next day…relax okay?   “

            “  The papers are all locked up in the safe, Mrs. Macomb. “  Kathy’s voice called airily as a child breeze floated through the bottom floor from the open door at the front of the house. “  You want us to bring you anything?  “

            “  No, I’m fine Kathy. Thanks!  “

            “  I’d better go! We’ve got to stop at the drug store to pick up some diaper pads. I KNOW she’s going to pee her pants before they ever get to the sinking boat part! I did, the first three times I even saw it. Ah, to be a virgin again, seeing Roy Snyder and Richard Dryfus in ‘Jaws One’ for the first time again!  “  Diane said with a sad sigh. “  See you in the …see ya tomorrow afternoon, if you even feel like getting out of bed and waddling down to he barn to help me shovel cow manure!  “   She raised a wry eyebrow and looked toward the ceiling for mercy.

            “  I’ll have to get back to you on that! “   Brenda agreed with a laugh. as she hugged her and followed her back out to the hallway. She felt a slight twinge at being so isolated as the second set of tail lights blinked and disappered into the main road, but she felt better locking the door and the windows, making sure Sargie was asleep in ‘his’ chair before she turned out the lights and painstaking went upstairs, taking the stairs one tread at a time because of the uncomfortable weight of the baby resting on her hips and abdomen.

            The hot bath soothed her nerves and the small apartment refrigerator Clark thoughtfully had installed under her nightstand was stocked with milk and cheese teats in wrappers that stayed fresh int h crisper, although they were a little crunchy until they aired.  

            “  At least my teeth don’t come out at night like the stars, Honey. “  She teased the image of Shawn, as it seemed he waited on the far side of the bed for her to laze her way to bed in her fuzzy pink slippers.  It was beginning to be a comfort to imagine her still with him, rather than painful, and she accepted his silence with gratitude. Startling slightly when Sargie leaped up on the bed, knocking the book from her fingers, she dozed, she turned off the light beside her bed and nestled into the warmth of the covers that she’d set on ‘low’ when she was soaking in the small, tiled bathroom room.

-

            The gloved hand across her mouth woke her, scaring her as it clutched against her instinctive squirm to get free and breath!   

            “  Get up and get dressed! Don’t scream!  “

            Brenda nodded to show she understood, hating the salty taste of dried deer blood on the gloved.  But as soon as she had her wits, she found anger rising up to defend her.

            “  Who’s going to hear me, Drew? My cat? The cows?  “  

            He backslapped her in raw nerves, tears of frustration coming to his eyes as he saw her growing contempt though she was wise enough o hold her tongue this time. A desperate man could be goaded into doing things he wouldn’t otherwise. .He allowed her 6to dress warmly but as he forced her out the front door at gun point, she used his momentary distraction to break free and run toward the side of the house. Without warning a massive body in black leather stepped out and seized her, lifting her off her feet.

            “  Damn it, Drew! Can’t you do anything right?  “   Bill Westmont mocked, holding Brenda securely at his side no matter how she attempted to struggle!  Until he spoke, her first impression was that her captor was Clark Applegate, for the former football All Star had gone to take pains to dress in in a similar outfit on the slight chance they might be seen form a distance, even wearing a pair of the security chief’s boots that he’s stolen from the shoe repair store. He planned to clean and dry them before anyone even guessed they’d be removed from the premises his father controlled.

            “  Then you do it, Bill!  I didn’t want any part of this to begin with!  “

            “   It’s not like with Jeff! They’ll know you used your key to get in the house! “  He warned, with an edge of desperation as the crying man simply walked away,

            “ No! They’ll know that YOU used my key to get in!  “  He flung it to the ground, where it disappeared into a mound with a soft hiss. He gunned his car so hard, he almost got it caught in a snowdrift. It fishtailed wildly as he slid across the ice forming on the driveway where the fog froze to the graveled pavement.  Then they were alone and Brenda was too frightened to resist. She remembered his cruelty as a boy far too well! 

            The shocking revelation struck the struggling woman with fresh fear. He wouldn’t have said anything so damning if he was going to allow her to live to repeat it! Despite her earlier bravado, she screamed, twice, as loud as she could. The houses on this roof were closed and shuttered for the season, but many had caretakers. In this still and cold, someone might hear her, even across the lake! 

            She struggled with every fiber of her being, the pain of the baby being twisted sideways as he half dragged, half lifted her toward the darkened lake bed only added to her will to survive! To live! But he was too strong! The water closed over her head!

            His hands loosened their grip for just a second as the icy water ran down into the lined driver’s gloves Bill was wearing. She seized that instant to pull free and use her hands to ‘pull’ herself further under the water, as she had as a child, playing in this very lake; doubling in half as she held her breath and fining her way toward the other shore. It was too cold to try and break back through to the surface crust in the middle; she and the baby would be at too great a risk for hypothermia! But sh4e could sprint toward the first lighted house she saw quicker than he could make his way around the irregular edge of the lake, with all its fences and locked yards!

            “  Stop or I’ll shot, Brea! I swear I will!  “   A high pitched voice screamed at her from behind as soon as she smashed her fist through the thin coating of ice and snow, drawing in great gulps of air that burned her lungs almost as badly as the bad air she was attempting to dispel!

            “  Kill me or kill me later!  “  She sobbed under her breath, trying to wipe her nose as it ran from the cold, then she hunkered down as low as her prominent belly would allow. Running an irregular zigzag path from necessity rather than stealth. The gun’s resounding boom stopped her in mid-flight, paused like the deer, watching her car approaching in the night until she felt a warmth race past her cheek. Turning the other way she straightened and ran as hard as she could, even when her common sense told her she couldn’t outrun a bullet! For the baby’s sake she had to try!                                                                                              

            There wasn’t a second shot for several more seconds. By then she’d reached the shielding bulk of a tree and she looked back, seeing Clark Applegate wrestling with himself, then penning the form to the ground. At least, she hoped it was the Marine who stood there, the victor!

-

             Captivity did nothing to improve Bill temper or disposition.

            “  I’m a powerful man, you don’t want me for an enemy! “  He attempted to bluster.

            “  You’re powerful enough in your own mind to be cruel; but what has that gained you, or the people around you, Bill?  “  She asked, feeling the strength of adrenalin seep from every pore. Despite having Clark’s jacket over her shoulders, her knees were knocking together.

            Clark Applegate tried             to get her to go back to the house, but she feared the power his father’s name and money had always been able t o influence in their formative years.

            “  You took American lives when you helped that woman escape!  “  Bill Westmont said, clearly beginning to think along the same lines as three pairs of Halogen headlights approached from the Interstate cut off to Westmont Lake. “  If you hadn’t interfered when you did, we could have forced the names of her cell from her!  “  He mumbled under his breath.

            Brenda stepped back in shock.

            ‘ You really believe that shit? ‘ She signed. 

            Bill’s face suffused crimson, like the glow of a Lava Lamp slowly changing colors.

            “  I don’t care what you call me!  “ 

            Brenda turned to Clark Applegate.

            “  I didn’t call him names!  “ She stammered in confusion, being confronted with an apparently irrational man.

            Clark pointed to her hands and her mouth formed a round ‘oh’ of delayed comprehension.

            “  That’s stupid, Bill!  “  She countered in annoyance, as rational thought began to sink in. The neighbor had shouted the police were on their way, but hadn’t wanted to get too near John T’s son!  “ Look at the phone, they hall have a button where you can bring up the phone number! You didn’t have to torture her for that or risk making her lose her baby!  “

            Bill reared back and raised his head and managed to look regally contemptuous despite his bonds.

            “  Her sleeper cell! One less terrorists in the world. “  He added, slumping dejectedly. “  Their’ll all as thick as thieves!  While we stand around being ‘noble and ’tolerant’!  “  He spat at her and didn’t have to enough to avoid it.

            Instead of becoming angry at the disgusting attack, she turned cold, inside and out.

            “  So if we torture you enough, you’ll tell us everything I need to know about what the Pope is doing privately at the Vatican?  “  She mocked.

            “  That’s stupid! I’m a  Protestant!  “ 

            “  Is she a Suni or a Shiite Muslim?  “

            “  How should I know? Why should I care? As long as they kill off each other instead of Americans?  “

            “  We’re the ones over there breaking down their doors and searching their houses like everyone is a criminal!  “  She stammered, sickened with revulsion.

            “  Who cares? They all hate us! “

            “  At the moment, I hate us too!  America used to be the ‘Good Guys’!  “

            “ Well unlike you I’m proud to be an American! I’m a patriot! They brought it on themselves when they bombed the towers, then took those airplanes and killed all those people! We should nuke the hell out’tae all them Moslems! Them and their killer god ‘Allah!’  If they’re so quick to kill for him, then let’s oblique them and let them die for him!  “

            Clark Applegate looked up through a film of tears. “ If you kill the innocent in the name of your religion, and to salvage your pride, what makes you any different from any other terrorist, Bill?  “

            “  What happened to the clean, hard working kid I went to High School with?  “

Brenda asked, her fear dissolving with the warmth cast off by the car engines as they pulled to a stop, illuminating them in the headlights while shadowy figures emerged from the cars and doors slammed. 

            “  Shit happened!  “  Westmont relented, his voice cracking with emotion. “ Viet Nam happened, Desert Storm happened, watching my sergeant get blown into a million little pieces by an IUD happened! If you weren’t such a coward you would have been over there to see so for yourself! Then you wouldn’t have to ask an honest American why or how?  “

            “  I didn’t. I asked you.  “

            “  What’s that supposed to mean?  “

            “  The last honest thing you said was at four years old when you told your nanny you’d pooped your pants!  “

             Westmont ground his teeth in rage, but the ropes held and all he could do was to pretend not to hear any more of their words.

            Clark touched her arm.

            “  Now who’s being cruel?  “

            “  ‘It’s all right to die if you take enough enemies with you!’ That’s how THEY think!  “

            “  Right now, I wish I could feel the same way.  “

            “   That’s the difference between us and them!  “  Bill Westmont gloated, seeing the approaching figures as his rescuers as an ‘answer’ presented itself to his nimble mind..

            “  Which ‘us’ and which ‘them’ do you mean? “   

            “   That’s obvious, Clark! “

            “   There’s no ‘us’ in you and I, and there’s no ‘them’ between me and ‘them’.

            “  That goes without saying!  “

            “  No, it doesn’t, Bill. It’s maybe the one things that needs to be said, but isn’t being!  “ 

            Tug Winslow’s voice said, as he stood in front of the headlights, briefly silhouetted against their bright glow.  Seeing their look he just shrugged and tugged on his right ear.

            “  I keep to keep my job as senior deputy, and the pay raise I had as acting sheriff. I’m young yet. “  He explained at the incredulous silence.

            Brenda laughed gently, then allowed the tall, stock man to put the darkly colored blanket around her, although it didn’t provide any warmth at first.

            “  At least I had your vote. Come on, lean on me.  “

            She opened her mouth to say something, and then thought better of it.

            “  Thank you, Marc.  “

            “  Naming me ‘Marc Anthony’? What was my mother thinking of? Just call me “Tug”. I think of it as my real name after all these years. “

            She smiled and signed ‘yes’, ‘thank you’. He seemed to understand.

-

            “  Hi, Kiddo, did I wake you?  “

            “  Just a little. What time is it in New York?  “

            “  Eight, in the morning. I was thinking of you, and I was afraid it meant you were trying to get a hold of me. Is everything okay? “

            “  Other than having a bladder the size of a tablespoon and cramps so bad I want to break a window, but I can’t get my hands any high than my midsection, yeah sure. I’m fine! How are you?  “

            He took longer to answer than she would have liked.

            ‘  As long as I can talk with you, I’m all right. I flushed the pills down the toilet last night, like you asked….  “

            “  Good!  “  She demanded so heartily the small cat beside her looked up at her face. As they talked, sharing a comfort that was left unspoken, she nestled into the familiar dip at the end of the couch.

            “  Do you remember Jaws? My friends and I set up the VCR last night and we watched it! All three of them…..  “

            He playfully made the noise of the music as the shark approached the unwary swimmer from below unawares, it was more frightening than the ‘actual’ attack and the blood floating to the top of the water, and then they both laughed; talking about the deep ocean movie as if it was what they were really sharing….and she felt rather than heard the small tom cat’s purr and Brenda envied Sargie his ability to express such deep contentment aloud.

-

-

The End