CHAPTER 11
Duke
A few more hours fly by and eventually we both pass out. She’s in my arms, and it feels perfect, but what doesn’t feel perfect are the dreams and thoughts I’m having when I should be resting. As much as I know that her and I are right for each other my own words about honor, courage, and commitment are tearing me up inside. I can’t do this in my best friend’s house. I’m going to be with her, without question, but just not here. Not now.
“Daisy,” I say, touching her lightly on the shoulder.
“I’m awake,” she says.
“You weren’t sleeping?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I was thinking about you. About us.”
“It’s not troubling you is it?”
“Yes, and no. I mean, no…I want to be with you, but you saw how my dad is.”
“I know how your dad is. And I know how much his friendship means to me. As much as I hate to do this, I think it’s best if I leave now, and we save this for another time.”
“You’re going?”
“Yeah, I just can’t do this in his house.”
“But we already did.”
“I know, and I don’t regret a single thing,” I say, reaching down and kissing her on the forehead. “But just imagine if he walks in on us and catches us in the morning.”
“He won’t.”
“You know him as well as I do. Getting up early to him is three a.m.”
“I guess you’re right,” she says. I can see she’s hurt, and I don’t feel a single bit good about it either, but it’s the right thing to do…for now.
I get dressed and she does too. She walks me to the door and I step out into the night. The rain must have stopped and the standing water has disappeared. The tree is still down, but I can reverse out of here and be on my way back home. I’m glad I was able to be there when she needed me, and I’m gladder we got to spend some time together.
I’m half way down the concrete walkway leading to the sidewalk when I see headlights coming down the block.
“This can’t be,” I say under my breath.
The truck speeds up and then screeches to a halt just behind my truck. The door swings open, and out flies Tim.
“You son of a bitch! What did I tell you?”
He’s running at me and it’s time to take my medicine like a man, and show Daisy how serious I am about her, although this isn’t the way I would have preferred.
Being that we’re two men of the same size and skill set it’s hard for one to overcome the other. We alternate between rolling around on the grass and throwing kicks and punches under the streetlights. At one point he drives me back into my truck door sending a loud thud through the neighborhood, and drawing a scream from Daisy.
That’s all that’s needed for the first neighbor’s light to come on, and then another, and another.
Three or four minutes later we’re huffing and puffing headed towards a draw, and inching closer to having a video on the damn Internet.
“You’re never welcome in this house again! You are not my friend!” he yells.
“We can’t do this now, Tim. Too many eyes on us.”
“There’s nothing to do, Duke. We’re done.”
It sounds like a break up and it is. We may be two big burly guys, but we’ve known each other for years. We know each other better than we know ourselves, and the end of the relationship is very real, and absolutely fucking terrible.
I see a young boy run onto his front lawn with a camera. He’s talking loud like he’s doing a play-by-play at a sporting event and I’m guessing he sees himself as some kind of live TV broadcaster for a bunch of strangers on the Internet to follow along. What sort of sick world are we living in?
I march right over to him and he takes off towards his porch. I turn on the speed and he’s no match for me. I scoop him up and set him down gently, taking the camera from him and pressing a few buttons until luckily the thing opens up and tape pops out. Thank god, it’s old technology and I can make heads and tails of it. I remove the tape and give the kid the camera back.
“Anything winds up on the Internet, I know where to find you and your father. You understand, young man?”
“Yes, sir.”
I don’t know what I hate more…that I have to talk this way to a boy or that this boy tried to film this. I squeeze the tape in my hands smashing it to pieces and stuff it in my pocket. I’m not taking any chances and I’m not making a mess of the neighborhood any more than I already have. Tim’s neighbors may know his past, and no military veteran wants a black eye for our country posted online. I jump in my truck and pull forward as much as I can, giving myself enough clearance to back up around Tim’s truck. I look over my shoulder as I speed in reverse.
I take one last look towards the house and see Daisy on the front lawn crying. She’s pleading with her father, but I know the man well enough to know once his mind is set, it’s set.
I’ve gone and screwed it all up, and to make matters worse it’s absolutely killing me that I’m not staying there to make it right…but there are two things you can count on. I’ll never put Daisy in this situation again, and I’ll be back to make this right once and for all.