Chapter 42

An unfamiliar noise woke me.It took a few seconds for me to realize that I wasn't home.The noise was Gus's door rattling.I reached for my pistol, then quickly realized that I might be headed into a gun fight, with only a stun gun to stick in someone's face it was not a reassuring feeling.Even in my groggy state, I knew that it might be the end of Maxine Stone.I didn't mind dying.Hell, I didn't even mind dying naked‭;actually I kind of liked that image.I just wished that I had tightened up the left over tummy first.I was not going to leave a beautiful corpse, and that was the big regret...

"‏So you are awake, ‭"Gus observed as he entered."‬Good, I would hate to wake you.You were sleeping so peacefully.‭"

"The key in the door woke me. ‏Some sounds just override everything else.‭"

"Yeah, ‏the racking of a shotgun and the sound of an AK47popping, come to mind for me.‭"

"Yeah, ‏anything off my routine does it for me.Even a small sound can start the adrenalin pumping.‭"I had to smile.Gus might be the only one in town, who really understood combat stress as well as me.

"‏Well, this time it is just the old man baring gifts.‭"He put the two bags on his small kitchen counter."‬So it's time to get up.‭"

That's when I remembered that I was naked and all my clean clothes were in the laundry bag by the door.Naked, when you are trying to get laid is one thing.Naked on a Sunday morning, with the sun streaming through the windows, is quite another.Still, I wasn't going to ask him to look away.I'm not that hypocritical, or modest.I slipped from his bed, walked as calmly as possible to retrieve the cloth bag, then went into the small bathroom for a quick shower.

After the shower I found that the surprise was Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee."‬I would usually make my own coffee, but frankly theirs is better.‭"Gus admitted."‬And I am trying to impress you.‭"

"I drink way too much coffee, ‏so I am not much of a judge, ‭"I admitted.However, I do like McDonalds‭'coffee.‭"I took a sip and then proclaimed."‬This stuff is excellent.‭"

"I thought you would like it. ‏One of my few vices, since I lost my driver's license, is the jelly donuts from KK.It is just across the street and half a block north.‭"

"I missed the hell out of their donuts, ‏for weeks after I came home for a visit, then had to leave.I hear they are all over the place now, but once upon a time, they were hard as hell to find.‭"

"Yeah, ‏I remember it that way, ‭"he agreed.

I bit into the jelly donut then said,"‬God that is heaven and five pounds on my ass.‭"

"Enjoy your donut Max, ‏you can handle the five pounds, no sweat.‭"Gus grew thoughtful for a few minutes then said,"‬I hope I didn't freak you out last night.You just remind me so much of my daughter Chris.‭"

"Not at all Gus, ‏most of good sex, and it was that, is more about imagination.At least it seems to be that way for me these days.‭"

"I'm glad that I didn't freak you out."

I suddenly got that urge to rescue a stray animal again."‬So tell me Gus, how do you get around without a car‭?"

"To be honest I miss the car a lot less than I expected. ‏This place is in the downtown, but it is a different downtown from the one I remember.‭"

"Yeah me too," ‏I agreed.

"‏I can't remember their being a grocery store downtown before.I mean yeah there were little markets here and there, but not a supermarket.Now there is one of those Food Lion things two blocks over.There are a couple of walk in clinics attached to the hospital three blocks up.Just about everything I need, I can walk to.As for the things I just want, like a real meal now and then, I have a fancy bicycle chained up outside.It don't look like much, I stripped it down to just the frame so the kids wouldn't want to steal it.

"‏Fortunately I can still pedal it around town, if I really want to go somewhere badly enough.My daughter Chris comes by, if I need to go anywhere far away like the VA hospital.She is the caretaker of my finances as well.She got me this place.I expect that it was mostly, so that I wouldn't be a burden on her.I didn't see her much over the years, but I did support her as much as I could.She is old enough to realize how things are now and even how they were back then.

"‏Yeah, I understand about my family now.I didn't always get it, but I think you kinda grow into it.‭"

"Exactly," ‏Gus said.

"‏Yeah, well Gunny, I have finished my donut, and I think you are finished with me.It's time for me to be heading home.‭"

"I am never going to be finished with you. ‏Here take this, ‭"he demanded while handing me a piece of paper roughly the size of a business card.There was a cell phone number hand written on it.

"‏Call me.If you don't Max, I do have your number.Of course your office is only three blocks away, I will come see you if you don't call.The threat of that embarrassment should be enough to force you to call.‭"

"I would not be at all embarrassed, ‏but I will call, I promise.‭"I had made that promise several times lately and never done it, but the Gunny might be the exception, I thought.

I drove home slowly, when I made the two turns that got me to my long driveway, I made sure no one was following.I found the cattle gate locked and undisturbed, so I pushed the buttons to get me inside.

I spend the remainder of the daylight hours trying to find a way to occupy myself.I tried watching TV on line.It worked for an hour's worth of TV, which took two hours to watch on line.I kept pausing it to do other things.I had come to enjoy TV that way.