Chapter 30

I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home from the Chinese dinner fiasco.‭ ‬I remembered to buy a radio, ‭ ‬before I stopped by the subway sandwich shop inside the store.‭ ‬I bought a huge steak sandwich on the way out.

When I got home, ‭ ‬I ate the sandwich while I watched a TV show from two days before‭; ‬I watched it on my computer.‭ ‬I debated going to the Cop Out, ‭ ‬but decided bed alone was more appealing.‭ ‬The Adrenaline had stopped racing so sleep was at least possible.

The next time I opened my eyes, ‭ ‬there was sunlight coming through the small high windows of my cabin.‭ ‬I had no idea why the convict/owner had set all his windows with the sills at four and a half feet from the floor.‭ ‬They were only two and a half feet high, ‭ ‬so they ran almost to the bottom of the roof in the front.‭ ‬Since the roof slanted downward from front to rear, ‭ ‬the back roof beams were on top of the windows.‭ ‬It didn't look near as strange as it sounded.‭ ‬It was a cabin after all, ‭ ‬not a family house.‭ ‬The windows had a single pane of glass and opened by swinging out and down.‭ ‬I had seen that configuration before, ‭ ‬but just couldn't place it.‭ ‬I'm sure it was an old movie.

The cabin seemed to be warm from inside the bed, ‭ ‬but in fact it still had the night's chill.‭ ‬When I got myself out of bed, ‭ ‬I turned the heater up a notch.‭ ‬I put the coffee maker to work on a fresh pot, ‭ ‬while I heated yesterday's stale coffee in the microwave.‭ ‬I turned on my new radio while I contemplated breakfast.

I had the party in the back of my mind, ‭ ‬so it was hard to concentrate on anything else.‭ ‬I was hungry enough so that my empty stomach broke through the sexual anticipation long enough to force me from my lethargy.‭ ‬I decided that it would be a Maxine's microwave version of the Egg McMuffin for breakfast...

I had one frozen sausage patty left from a six pack I had bought some time before.‭ ‬I put it in a cereal bowl with a paper napkin on top, ‭ ‬then into the Microwave for a minute.‭ ‬When it dinged, ‭ ‬I removed the sausage patty from the bowl, ‭ ‬then broke and egg into the same bowl.‭ ‬I scrambled it up a little, ‭ ‬added some Texas Pete, ‭ ‬and then shoved it back into the Microwave for thirty seconds.‭ ‬When it was done, ‭ ‬I heated an English muffin that was probably a month old.‭ ‬The combination of everything and a slice of sandwich style American cheese was my breakfast.‭ ‬It wasn't as good as a Helen bag breakfast, ‭ ‬but it wasn't awful either.

The radio was kind of nice, ‭ ‬once I found a decent music station‭; ‬one that played oldies of course.‭ ‬I also found a talk radio station, ‭ ‬one with conservative leanings.‭ ‬Then I found one with liberal leanings as well.‭ ‬Both views interested me, ‭ ‬since both had some right thinking views as well as some kooks.

For instance, ‭ ‬I am pro choice on abortion, ‭ ‬but only because I am anti government intervention in my life.‭ ‬I don't want them telling me, ‭ ‬I have to join a union, ‭ ‬but I also don't them telling me what to do with my body.‭ ‬To me, ‭ ‬my thinking is not inconsistent.‭ ‬If I let them regulate part of my life, ‭ ‬then I have to let them regulate any part my own life as well.

I was having a grand old time calling both talk radio commentators idiots, ‭ ‬when the phone rang.‭ ‬Actually it still didn't ring, ‭ ‬it played that stupid music.‭ "‬Hello, ‭" ‬I said shortly into the thing.

‎"‏My, ‭ ‬aren't you in a mood‭?" ‬the male voice said.

‎"‏I'm in a fine mood, ‭ ‬who are you‭?" ‬I wasn't in the mood for a sales call.

‎"‏It's Reverend Archer, ‭ ‬and I was calling to invite you to church tomorrow.‭ ‬I didn't get a chance to say thank you for the tea cup toss, ‭" ‬he said with a smile in his voice.

‎"‏If I come to your church, ‭ ‬Rev, ‭ ‬will you tell me who you really are‭?"

"I have no idea who I really am, ‎ ‏Maxine, ‭ ‬but I will tell you who I have been.‭"

"Then give me the address, ‎ ‏and I'll give it some serious thought.‭"

"It's on the English Trail out in‎ ‏West End.‭ ‬Do you know it‭?"

"I know where‎ ‏West End is, ‭ ‬and I have a Tom Tom‭; ‬I can find it.‭"

"It's a little more difficult that that.‎ ‏The church is a store front mission‭; ‬inside a former Union Hall.‭ ‬There is a sign in the window, ‭ ‬but no sign on the outside of the building.‭ ‬It is a new mission.‭"

"I promise if you give me a street address I'll find it, ‎ ‏if I decide to show up.‭"

"812‎ ‏English Trail, ‭" ‬he said.‭ "‬I'll be expecting you.‭ ‬And Maxine, ‭ ‬bring your check book.‭ ‬Once you see the good work we are doing, ‭ ‬you will want to make a contribution.‭"

"I doubt that.‎ ‏Charity begins at home for me.‭"

"Well come anyway, ‎" ‏he said, ‭ ‬just as the phone went dead.

Now that would be an interesting contradiction, ‭ ‬a night of complete debauchery and then church the next day.‭ ‬I almost laughed, ‭ ‬but it didn't seem all that funny after all.

‎"‏Maxine‭?" ‬the next caller asked.

‎"‏Yes, ‭" ‬I recognized the voice as Detective Bostic.‭ "‬What can I do for you Anya‭?"

"We need to talk.‎ ‏This has gone on long enough without a plan.‭ ‬I am going to force a meeting with Marge.‭ ‬Will you be around for a while‭?"

"I have no plans for today.‎ ‏It's not like a need a trip to have my hair done.‭" ‬I still had only an inch of hair on my head.‭ ‬At least it was enough so that I didn't look skeletal any more.‭ ‬I just looked like a leather butch Dyke.‭ ‬Maybe that was my sudden appeal to all the women and even girls in town.

‎"‏I'll get back with you after I set it up with Marge, ‭" ‬she said hanging up without a goodbye.‭ ‬She was the second person in a row to do that.‭ ‬People just didn't feel the need to be courteous with me for some reason.

I spent the time between calls with music on the radio and a mop in my hand.‭ ‬The floors in my cabin were all salvaged from an old mill I expected.‭ ‬The finish was some kind of varnish but no two boards matched.‭ ‬They had been removed carefully from someplace, ‭ ‬and then reinstalled hap hazardly in the cabin.‭ ‬I didn't mind, ‭ ‬there was a certain charm to it.‭ ‬I could also roll up the large area rug, ‭ ‬obviously rescued from some junk heap, ‭ ‬to clean under it.‭ ‬The throw rug kept the center of the floor from being unbearably cold, ‭ ‬so it was a pretty good compromise.

If the cabin was mine I would trash that rug and get a smaller fake oriental rug for the center of the floor, ‭ ‬leaving more of the wood showing.‭ ‬Since I was only a caretaker, ‭ ‬I left things as they were.‭ ‬Well, ‭ ‬I had bought a better bed and the microwave.