Chapter 8 - Cheap Whisky and Expensive Cigars

By Marina Kelly and Monica Rose
Editor: Qmodo

Their walk back to the library was spent talking about what growing up in Laramie was like for Pat. He pointed out the tree he had fallen out of and broken his arm. She was treated to a detailed explanation of how he and his friends played baseball in the empty lot they passed. When they passed the fire station, the truck had been pulled out of its bay and was blocking the sidewalk. As they approached, Mary could see a pair of tight britches; the owner's head lost under the engine hood. Pat let go of her hand and walked up to this person and smacked its owner playfully across the bottom. Which resulted in a thud as the recipient banged their head in reaction to the swat. Out from under the hood came an amount of swearing that would make a sailor blush.

Mary Sue stood to one side with a shocked look on her face, unable to believe that Pat had done something like that. The mechanic pulled their head out from under the hood to reveal Liz in a cap that trapped most of her hair.

Her expression was cross until she recognized her assailant, Liz immediately calmed down. She smiled in a flirtatious way, and waved at the two with a hand covered in grease. "Patrick, I might have known that was you. It’s a good thing that my head was cushioned or I would be giving you lumps on your head too. Mary, you need to watch out for this guy, he'll break your heart like he did mine."

Pat returned her smile and said, "Come on Liz, that's nonsense. We were in junior high when we dated. It was you who dumped me as I remember it."

Liz laughed and agreed, "True enough, my tastes evolved after I caught you kissing the school slut under the bleachers. Wasn't her name Rose?"

Now Mary was interested, "Tell me more Liz, I'd like to hear about Romeo's past."

Pat, not liking where this conversation was headed, grabbed Mary by the arm, "Come on Mary, we have to get back to the library." He knew to never let an old girlfriend share stories with your current girlfriend. He looked back at Liz and said, “Sorry about your head. I’m glad you’re okay.”

With a grin on her face, Liz said, "I'll have Big Red here back in the barn in a few minutes. Mary, ditch that loser and stop by the café. It'll be just us girls. I'll give you the abridged version of Pat 101. Now...I need to finish this tune up, you never know when she might be needed."

Once they were out of hearing range, Mary asked, "Why is Liz doing a tune up on the fire engine?"

"First off, she is the best shade tree mechanic in town. Secondly, as a member of the volunteer fire department, maintenance is one of her responsibilities. Now can we please not talk about Liz anymore?" He didn’t want to field any more questions about his past, even though there was nothing unusual to talk about.

They reached the library without further incident. Pat retreated to his office to catch up on some paperwork while Mary headed to the basement. She quickly wrote up the request for the Sheriff. She looked over all the notes she had taken, made a few additions and decided she could not stand the suspense any longer. Reaching into the bag she carefully opened the journal.

Each page seemed to be filled edge-to-edge with smooth, elegant handwriting. It wasn't hard to read, except where the script was smudged or maybe a bit too small. She skimmed through the handwritten text, stopping to study passages that caught her eye.

September 1896
School is in session again. My teacher is very happy with my work. I am studying hard so I can become
a teacher someday.

I think that he wants to get me toughened up and to be more like him. I know that he is not happy that I am
shorter and thin like mother, not big and tough like he is. I want to be like father, but I just don't seem to be
growing any more.

The next entry appeared to be written by the same hand and pencil, but the handwriting appeared shaky and hurried. The penmanship was nothing like the neat precise script that preceded it.

I think that something bad has happened to father, but I don't know where he is. I am here at home again.
I am writing this while Mother is making me some of her tea. Last night was our final night for our hunting trip
and we were camped just south of town. It was still cold at night, so we were huddled by the fire I had set
up. Father showed me how to do it on our first night and he had me set up the fire each evening so that I
could practice.

All I could do was pick everything up and make my way home. Mama and I held each other while we cried
for father, but she didn't cry for very long. She put everything away and hid the goat hide. She told me that I
should probably have left it behind.

The next entry was written in the more elegant hand again and looked like it had been added some hours or a day later.

Mama tells me that I must leave her. She has left me here to pack while she has gone out to make
some arrangements. I don't know when I will be able to write in my journal again.

It seemed like forever before mother let me out again and she looked very worried.

@ @ @ @

It was about an hour later, when Pat finished his work and came down to the basement to check on her. He handed her a bottle of cold water as Mary looked up from the journal. She couldn't contain her excitement as she said, "This journal tells the story of how Yolanda came to be on the wagon train and how a 16-year-old boy left Missouri and reached Wyoming as a respected young woman. I could probably write my thesis on the substance of this journal alone. I would just need a bit more documentation to supplement it."

Pat smiled at how Mary seemed to be practically vibrating, "Tell me what I can do to help."

"Well, we still haven't examined the books and they weren't touched by your burglar. We could look to see if there is anything there that might be of interest."

Pat quickly had a pile of books on the table and they were reviewing the subject content. They had been working for an hour or so when Mary looked at Pat and said, "Do you smell that? I could swear its smoke."

Pat sniffed the air and said, "It couldn't be, the smoke alarms would have gone off."

Several minutes later though, there was definitely smoke filtering its way into the room.

Pat told Mary to stay put and ran up the stairs. He returned only a few moments later, out of breath.

"It’s a fire alright; I think that it's in the storage room. Let's get out of here."

Pat stood and started for the stairs, Mary paused, "I'm not leaving here without my research, it's three years of my life."

Pat wasn't about to argue with her and helped Mary Sue stuff everything back into her bag as the density of the smoke in the area grew.

"Give me your water bottle!" he demanded. He took a handkerchief and poured the water on it. “Here put this over your mouth and nose.” He grabbed her bag and took her hand, "Come on its time to go. Follow me and stay low."

He led them up the stairs and found the main library full of smoke. Visibility was non-existent and it was difficult to breathe even through their makeshift masks. Mary couldn't tell where the fire was, but she couldn't feel any heat as yet. Pat pulled her to the floor and led the way across the room toward the main door. They eventually got to the door, which was none too soon as the cloths across their faces had dried out.

Pat stood to open the door, the latch worked but the door would only open an inch. Mary was becoming truly scared now, but Pat seemed calm and dropped back to his knees, "Follow me, I'll get us out."

Again they crawled into the thick cloud of noxious smoke and Mary was quickly disorientated. After what seemed an eternity, Pat stopped and opened a door.

“This is my office,” he rasped. “The window will let us step out to the ground.” He closed the door once they were both in and they were able to stand.

The air was less smoky in the room, but the difference was slight because of the smoke that had come in with them.

Pat quickly threw open the window and helped Mary Sue climb out and her backpack quickly followed. She took several steps away from the building and waited for Pat, when he didn't come out she went back to the window. There on the other side was Pat with his arms full of books and folders. He started handing them to Mary and she had a respectable pile in the yard when they heard the sounds of the emergency vehicles. Pat climbed out of the window and walked Mary Sue over to where she had stacked his books and records.

They both asked the other, "Are you alright?"

She answered by stepping into his arms to hug him tightly. Assured she was unhurt, Pat pulled her close. “If anything happened to you I would never forgive myself.”

“I feel the same way.” She pulled his face close to hers and kissed him tenderly. “But Pat, all those books!” They clung to each other and both shed a few silent tears.

The fire department did quick work of putting out the flames. The chief sought out Pat to get a report of what happened.

Pat told the chief what happened from his perspective, including not being able to exit through the front door.

The chief dropped a lock and length of chain at Pat's feet. "I wondered why these were attached to the door handles. It is only a preliminary cause but it looks like someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window in your storage room. The door to the room was closed though and most of the damage was in the store room. There was quite a bit of smoke though.

"Which brings up two questions, why would someone want to do that to the library, and why would you not have batteries in your smoke detectors?"

A bewildered Pat answered, “I don't know who or why and I just changed the batteries last month. Someone must have removed them." He related that there had been a burglary of some sort previously and that it had already been reported.

"That's good enough for me. I'll turn this over to the sheriff. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you both."

Pat pushed Mary to arm's length and studied her closely, "Mary Sue, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever known."

Not feeling beautiful all covered with soot and smoke, she chuckled, "Mr. Summerfield, you need your eyes checked, I'm a mess."

The sheriff arrived and told Pat to accompany him to his office for questioning.

Taking her written request out of the rescued papers, Mary handed it to the officer. “Sheriff, here is that written request you needed.”

Pat and Mary exchanged another hug before agreeing to meet at Molly's Irish Pub in an hour. Then Mary left to return to her room to get cleaned up.

@ @ @ @

It was just a couple of hours later when Mary pulled up in front of the pub; Pat was waiting for her on the curb.

Mary wasn't a drinker but agreed that today was different; a glass of wine or even a beer might be just what she needed.

Pat held the door for her; stepping inside it was what you would expect from a small town. It had an almost 'Cheers' like quality to it. The place was crowded, people clustered about in small groups talking amicably and just relaxing, most waved a friendly hello to Pat. Pat found a table and had Mary sit as he went for their drinks. She had a surprisingly good glass of California Chardonnay, Pat on the other hand had a glass of Irish whiskey. They sat and were enjoying the friendly ambiance of the pub, several people stopped by to introduce themselves to Pat's conquest.

The comfortable quiet was broken as the front door burst open and four men stumbled in, led by Ron Kaylock, the other three had to be his henchmen.

Ron elbowed his way to the bar and loudly ordered beers for the four. It didn't take long, before Ron spotted Pat and Mary Sue. He stumbled his way to their table fueled by liquid courage, and assumed an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like pose as he glared at them. He cocked his head to the side and cracked his knuckles, thinking it made him look tougher.

The bar went silent, all eyes turned to Pat and Ron.

Mary Sue thought that the man was a complete boor; he reeked of cheap whisky and cigars. She took a brief moment to seek out all the exits, a survival instinct she had developed from working as a casino waitress.

Ron focused upon Mary Sue, his eyes cold and his lip curled.

"You’re slow to take a hint,” he slurred. “I don't want her here, in my bar or my town. Clear?"

Pat looked up at the younger Kaylock and said calmly, "Listen Ron, we have every right to be here, our presence doesn't seem to bother anyone else."

"I don't care 'bout everybody else. Either leave on your own or I'll throw you and your nosy bitch out."

Ron's belligerence must have touched Pat's last nerve but, to Mary's utter astonishment, Pat started to hum the movie sound track from Rocky. He pulled his feet under him and slowly rose to his feet, keeping his hands down. He stood nose to nose with the drunken bully and said, "I don't know what your problem is Ronnie. But I have had a very full day and would like to finish it in peace.”

“You can have all the peace you want but have it someplace else,” Ron answered.

“If you got a beef with me let's take this outside to the alley and settle it like men, unless you're afraid." Pat nodded toward the side door and Pat extended his arm for Ron to lead the way. As Ron stepped through the door, Pat gave him a firm shove, stepped back inside, and locked the door behind him. Mary applauded, the rest of the bar responded in boisterous laughter.

Pat berated himself for his apparent cowardice, looked at Mary and with an apologetic expression and said, "Some people might call me a coward for not fighting him. As a kid, I was involved with a lot of fights. But I stopped when we reached the age where a fight could cause more damage than a black eye or bloody nose. The truth is that I just happened to like my facial features where they were. The last thing I want to do was get into a brawl with you here."

"Won't he be back?" asked Mary. "He just has to walk around the building."

"Possibly, but not likely with everyone laughing at him. The humiliation should keep him away."

Then, from out of the crowd came, one of the cowhands that had come in with Ron said, "I'm going to kick your ass Summerfield."

Mary Sue stepped in front of him and said to Pat, "Let me handle this one."

Pat's eyes widened and his jaw fell slack as he watched her. The behemoth stood nose to nose with Mary. Of course, he towered over her and she had to lean back to look him in the eye.

He said loudly, "I don't hit girls, step aside."

Mary calmly replied, "Know what? I’m not a girl, I’m a woman."

Any normal person would have run for their life while Mary stood there challenging his very existence. “You and your friends need to go sit down.”

“You need to get out of my way!” he growled as he went to push her out of his way.

Taking hold of his offending hand, she pulled him off balance, causing him to fall flat on his face. He struggled to back on his feet and said, “I’ll hit you now!”

He reached for her again but this time she moved into his grasp grabbed his shirt said, “I don’t think so,“ and brought her knee into his groin. His legs buckled and he crumpled into a heap on the floor, a pained look frozen on his face

Mary turned towards his buddies and calmly said, "Whose next?"

His companions quickly melted into the crowd, wanting nothing to do with this hellcat of a woman.

Pat brought his hands up to cover his open mouth as he looked at her. Mary Sue turned and faced Pat giving him a brilliant smile. “I did tell you that I had four brothers right? My oldest brother Mike taught me that when I was having trouble with the youngest, Jeff, before Mike went off to college. But, if you don't mind, I think I have had enough excitement and surprises for one day.”

Pat smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her and they walked out into the fresh air. After a minute of uneasy silence, she looked up at Pat and said, "Did you hear the one about the guy who walks into a bar…"

His heart raced in his chest as he tried to look away from this beautiful woman that he’d known for such a short time. How his life had changed. His life had gone from quiet to exciting in more ways than he could count. His everyday routine had been turned sidewise and he did not want it to ever go back.

Pat felt sweat beading on his brow as his throat clenched and his mouth suddenly felt like it was filled with cotton. The world seemed to spin and his legs turned to rubber. He did the only thing he could he closed his eyes and took this goddess in his arms. Then her lips touched his, and everything stopped.

The panic, fear, and confusion of the day all disappeared in an instant when he took her into his arms. The kiss was slow and passionate. The mixture of wine and whiskey on their breath was a testament to how they blended together. Every kiss with this woman kept getting better and fueled his feeling of lust for her.

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. Breaking the kiss, Pat became aware there was a police car with it bubble lights' flashing, a few feet away.

With a smug expression on his face the sheriff said, "Well, why am I not surprised to see two of my favorite people? Summerfield, I heard there was a fight in the bar and I’ve had a complaint. Your breath reeks of booze. I'm going to have to take you in until you sober up."

Without further discussion, Pat was handcuffed and forced into the rear of the squad car. He called out to her, "Go home, I'll be alright. I'll see you in the morning."

Mary watched the car until it has turned the corner further down the street before she got into her car and drove back to her motel, glad that the sheriff had decided not to cause trouble for her as well.

She prepared for bed relatively quickly, but sleep eluded her; she couldn't get the image of Pat being taken away out of her head. As she grew drowsier, her thoughts moved to what happened today and what was to happen the next day. She confessed to a slight feeling of anticipation mixed with a little dread. She didn’t like surprises; they always made her feel off balance, and she certainly wasn't prepared for what was to come.

@ @ @ @