Chapter 13

Cliff sat on the couch and said, “We have to do something.”

Glen shook his head and stated, “There’s nothing we can do. They haven’t broken any laws.”

Cliff said, “They are interfering with our ability to do business.”

“This is a normal tactic. They first start to protest the business they don’t like. If that doesn’t work, then they try to get the sources of income to back away from them. In our case, that means they try to get our advertisers to back out.”

Cliff fumed and didn’t reply. He angrily stood up and started pacing. Glen watched his as he tried to work off some of his frustration. The Last True Church of Christ had selected their magazine as their primary target of their righteous wrath. The hate mail had gotten even worse and now they were threatening to harm them. Cliff finally burst out, “If I ever get my hands that that creep, I’d strangle him.”

Glen shook his head and calmly said, “Hold on. You’re just frustrated because you have to deal with them. None of the advertisers have backed out. They just called to let you know what was going on. Do you really think that a company that sells sex toys on the web is going to back out because a weird Christian group threatens to protest them?”

“No, you’re right.” Cliff looked back at him and added, “I just need to get rid of some of this excess energy.”

Glen looked a Cliff and suggested, “Go skiing. I know the sun sets early this time of year, but you’ve still got about three hours of light.”

Cliff shook his head after considering the idea. He paused and said, “I’ve got to get a Valentines Day present for CJ. Tomorrow is the big day.”

“Tomorrow isn’t Valentines Day.”

Cliff nodded in agreement and replied, “Yes, but she has to work Valentines Day.”

“Oh, that makes sense. You are going to surprise her with a present at work anyway, aren’t you.”

“Of course.”

Glen finally said, “Yes, that is far more important. We must keep our priorities in line. Following love over exercise is always the best policy. Taking care of your girlfriend should be your first concern.”

Cliff’s eyes twinkled as he said, “I’ve always found the pursuit of love is a great exercise, with most of the exercise coming after the catch!”

Glen laughed. It was a rolling laugh that came from deep within his body as he considered the humor of the situation. At least Cliff only had to worry about exercise from one woman. He was tired half of the time, each one wanted to do it at night and then in the morning. Then both of them wanted a nooner. The result was that he was exhausted most of the time.

Their conversation was interrupted when Sandra came staggering out of the bedroom. She collapsed on the floor in front of Glen. Glen shot out of his chair and raced over to her. He was not in time to catch her before she hit the floor. She was pale and shaking as though in shock. He asked, “what’s the matter, Sandra?”

She whispered, “Something is wrong with Wanda.”

Glen picked up Sandra while Cliff got her coat. They wrapped her in it while Cliff threw Glen’s coat over his shoulders. Cliff then went and got his coat. Glen carried Sandra to the truck. Cliff opened the door so that he could set her inside. Cliff got in while Glen went around to the drivers side and entered. They peeled out of the driveway and headed towards town.

Sandra slowly woke up and stated, “She’s near the grocery store.”

Glen took note and went down the turns that would lead them there the quickest. He actually cut across a field to make the trip quicker. It wasn’t long before they were in front of the grocery store. Glen slowed down and drove around the area looking for an alley. Sandra cried out, “Here! Glen, I’m over here.”

Glen stopped the truck and looked around. He spotted an ally about fifty feet away and drove over to it. Cliff leapt out of the truck before he even stopped it completely. He ran to a bundle on the ground. Glen was next to him half a second later. His stomach turned as he looked at her, her face was swollen so that one eye was closed, her lip was split and she was breathing with a raspy sound. He gently lifted her and carried her over to the truck. He set her next to her sister while Cliff climbed in the back.

They reached the hospital in record time. Their passing was not unnoticed by the Sheriff’s deputy, who reached the hospital almost three minutes later. The Deputy was unwilling to cut across the school yard. He came charging over to the truck ready to arrest everyone until he got look at Wanda. The Deputy shouted towards the hospital, “We have an injured person here.”

Glen carried her into the hospital before the staff had a chance to react. He set her upon a gurney and started pushing it to the emergency rooms. He was immediately surrounded by doctors and nurses wanting to know what happened. Glen frowned and said, “I don’t know. Sandra started crying something was wrong with her sister. We came into town to find her. We left the cabin about forty five minutes ago.”

The Deputy was standing behind him and heard every word. He got on his radio and called in the Sheriff. Glen turned and said, “She looks like she was beaten. You had better find the guy that did this before me.”

The Deputy shivered as chills ran down his spine when he saw the look on Glen’s face. Glen’s words were not idle threats. He thought about what Glen had done to Amos when he caught him in his house. That made him even more nervous. He answered, “We’ll find him.”

Glen stood and watched the hospital staff work on Wanda. He was careful to stay out of their way, but he didn’t let her out of his sight for a moment. His presence made the staff nervous, but none of them dared say a word. His watch was interrupted by Cliff as he shouted, “Damn it, Glen. Help me with Sandra.”

Glen wheeled about as though shot and strode over to Cliff. Cliff was having trouble carrying her in. Glen lifted her easily out of his arms and carried her to the other bed. A nurse and a doctor went over to find out what was the matter with her. Glen said, “They are connected. What one feels, so does the other.”

The nurse looked at him with a funny expression, but then decided that it was better to leave the subject alone. The weird thing was that her face started swelling in exactly the same way as her sister. The doctor looked over both sisters and watched in amazement as the one sister slowly transformed to where she had similar injuries as the other.

Glen interrupted the doctor and said, “Treat them, don’t watch them.”

The doctor looked at him in irritation and then turned back to Wanda. He started to work on her, providing fluids and pain killers. A sigh of relief escaped from Sandra. Glen watched and realized that the two were much closer than he had ever thought. He pictured Wanda laying in the alleyway, kept warm by her sister’s body heat even though they were miles away.

After half an hour, the doctor finished working on Wanda and turned to Glen. He stated, “She’ll be okay. We’ll move them both to a room, now.”

Glen followed them to the room and sat down on a chair where he could watch both of them. He moved the chair so that he was sitting between them. He held a hand in each of his hands. He didn’t move or speak as the nurses came and went. The entire time, he pictured his strength flowing into them, helping them heal.

Cliff sat in the other chair and watched the three of them. He envied his sisters that they had someone like Glen to watch over them. He wondered if CJ would do that for him. After sitting there for a couple of hours, he got up and went to the floor next to Sandra. He lay down and went to sleep. Glen acted like he didn’t notice, his attention remained on the twins.

The Sheriff entered the room later that afternoon. He sat in the other chair in the room and looked at Glen. He stated, “You scared the shit out of my Deputy.”

Glen, his voice flat and dangerous, asked, “She was out there for over forty minutes after some asshole beat her. Did anyone see anything?”

Dale shook his head and answered, “No. No one saw anything. However, some folks told me that there were some men in town asking about the Metchettes this morning.”

Glen sat there for a minute considering his options. He had to protect the twins, even if it meant his life. He finally asked, “What did they look like?”

Dale, knowing how Glen would react, answered, “Let’s find out what happened before we go chasing after folks that just might be innocent.”

Glen stated, “Don’t forget that Cliff is still out there all alone. He could be next and I doubt they’ll leave him alive. He’s the one they really want.”

Dale stated, “Don’t tell me that you support them in this magazine effort of theirs.”

Glen considered his answer carefully. His tone brooked no argument as he said, “Yes, I do. Look at them. They had nothing a year ago. Now they have their own business and are making more money than most folks. They describe lifestyles that are based on love and respect. No one is harmed by what the write.”

Dale stated, “What they are saying is a sin in my book.”

Glen chuckled and replied, “You’re a good man Dale. We all have a thing or two wrong in our books when it comes to defining what is and isn’t a sin.”

Dale was about to respond when he realized that Glen was right. We all had things that we thought were wrong that others accepted as normal. Someone had to be wrong. He changed the topic and stated, “I’ll look for them. I’ll warn Cliff not to be alone.”

Glen stated, “You don’t have to do that. He’s taking a nap on the floor next to Sandra. He hasn’t left since they got here.”

Sandra groaned in her sleep. Glen moved over to Wanda and watched her for signs of waking. He pressed the nurses call button. The nurse arrived and looked at Wanda. She said, “There’s no change.”

Glen stated, “Sandra is groaning. Wanda must be in some pain for that to happen.”

The nurse looked at him in disbelief. About that time, Wanda and Sandra both whimpered. The nurse quickly left the room and came back with a vial and a needle. She did her job and in seconds the twins calmed down. She looked over at Glen and stated, “I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

Glen answered, “They truly believe they are one person in two bodies.”

Cliff got off the floor looking concerned. He asked, “Is everything alright?”

Glen nodded. Dale looked over at Cliff and said, “I want you to take care of yourself. You aren’t to be alone from now on.”

Cliff nodded and stated, “The only time we’ll leave here is to eat.”

“Good,” answered the Sheriff. He stood up and walked over to Glen. He handed a stack of papers to Glen as he added, “By the way, here are some tickets. You’ll have to go before the judge and plead extenuating circumstances.”

Glen looked at the stack of tickets as he flipped through them. He frowned as he read aloud, “Speeding. Reckless Driving. Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign. Reckless Endangerment. Speeding through a School Zone.”

Cliff swore, “Sheriff, that’s not fair. He was trying to save my sister’s life.”

Glen interrupted Cliff before he could get into a tirade. He held up a hand as he said, “Hey, the Deputy is just doing his job. We drove across a school yard, for Christ’s sake.”

Dale shot a glance at Glen realizing that he was relieved that Glen understood the Deputy’s position. He had really scared his deputy earlier. Dale said, “As I suggested, tell the judge that there were extenuating circumstances. He’s still likely to throw the book at you, but at least he won’t be aiming for your head or balls.”

There was a very weak laugh from Wanda. She said, “He better not aim at his balls.”

Glen turned to Wanda and touched her gently. He avoided her face. It was hard to tell that it was her with the number of bandages that covered her. He smiled down at her and said, “Don’t you know that I have balls of steel?”

She started to laugh, but the effort was too much. She went back to sleep with her hand grasping his firmly. He looked up and smiled, “She’s going to be alright.”

Cliff nodded and then stated, “We should go eat now. She’ll sleep for another two hours or so.”

Glen nodded and kissed her hand tenderly. Her grip tightened and then relaxed as she fell into a much deeper and more restful sleep. He let go of her hand and stepped back from the bed. He turned and repeated the same action for Sandra. She was in just as much pain as her sister.

The three men left the hospital together and went to the diner. When they entered, CJ came running up to them. She had heard the news and was concerned for everyone involved. She hugged Cliff as she said, “Is she okay?”

Glen answered, “They are fine.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Uncle Dale, do you have any idea who did this?”

Dale looked over at Glen and answered, “We have some ideas, but nothing definite yet.”

They went to their normal booth. The three men were in a subdued mood and didn’t talk much. Glen was worried for both of the twins. Dale was worried about what Glen would do when he caught up to the men that had attacked Wanda. Cliff was wondering if he was really the intended target. He was also worried about CJ getting hurt because of her proximity to him.

When CJ delivered their meals, Cliff cleared his throat and said, “Uh, CJ. I have been thinking...”

“What is it honey?”

This was harder than Cliff imagined. He said, “You might want to keep your distance from me until the guys that did this to Wanda are caught.”

Dale nodded, pleased that Cliff had been the one to bring up the subject. He said, “CJ, that sounds like a real good idea.”

CJ stood up straight with her mouth set in a tense line. In a tone of voice that suggested that any argument would be wasted, she said, “No. I’m not going to run away from him. I’m going to be by his side every chance I get.”

Cliff smiled at her spirit, but said, “CJ. I worry too much about you. If something were to happen, I’d be so concerned for you that I wouldn’t be able to think straight. One of the few lessons I’ve learned in my short life is that you can’t face some people without being ready for them.”

Glen smiled and nodded as he realized that Cliff was thinking rather than reacting. He added, “CJ, Cliff is right. You don’t want to be a target. If you don’t believe us, go over to the hospital and look at Wanda. Not one of us at the table want to see you in that state.”

Dale sat back and considered the two men sitting across from him. He realized that they would do the right thing no matter the consequences to themselves so long as the people they loved were safe. Despite the fact that he felt Cliff was wrong in pursuing his business, he couldn’t help but like the kid. He said, “CJ. You know how I feel about what he is doing, but that has nothing to do with my advice. Listen to him. He’s right. You need to stay away from him for a while.”