Storiesonline.net
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                                Hardtimes
                            by Lazlo Zalezac

Copyright© 2010 by Lazlo Zalezac


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Description: Burl is a security guard at a local mall. He's the kind of guy that woman like as friends, but nothing more than that. As everyone says, he's a nice guy.

Codes: MF slow
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DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes without the consent of the author.

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Chapter 1


Trailing a thin wisp of blue smoke from the exhaust pipe, the white Saturn pulled into the driveway of the two bedroom wood frame house. With tires creating a crackling sound as they passed over small chunks of concrete that had splintered off the paved drive, the car slowly approached a detached garage. The driver parked the car in front of the garage, not bothering to shelter the old car out of the weather. The fifteen year old car had sat outside the garage for most of its life.

Burl climbed out of the car; pausing a moment to lean heavily on the door. He looked as tired as his car. Or was it vice versa? Even the shield announcing his profession as a mall security guard looked dull. It had been a long day walking around the mall protecting stores from the occasional shoplifter and customers from the frequent skateboarders.

Everything around him look tired. The houses, dating back to the 1940s, were in varying degrees of dilapidation. They had been built to house families working in factories that produced equipment for the war. They had been built quickly and cheaply. As a result they hadn't weathered the years all that well. The factories were gone, but the houses remained. All were occupied although there were a few that would require a bit of work to get them into salable shape.

He walked up the driveway taking note of the three foot wide strip of grass that separated his drive from the one next door. The grass was starting to turn brown. Fall was coming to an end and the weather would be getting a lot colder. There were enough green tufts sticking up that he'd have to mow it one more time before putting the mower up for the winter.

He was about to climb the three steps up to the side door of the house when his neighbor stepped out of her door. She called over, "Uh, Burl?"

"What's up, Kat?" Burl asked while turning to look at the attractive young woman.

She was wearing a little black dress that looked out of place in this neighborhood. It was low cut enough to show the gentle swell of her breasts. The hem was high enough to show off enough thigh to make a man dream for just a little more. Her long hair had been released from her usual pony tail. She wore just the right amount of makeup to look natural.

"My mom is sick. She can't watch Herbie tonight and I've got a date. I can't aff ... I mean, I'd hate to miss it," Kat answered looking panicked at what she had nearly said.

"I'll be glad to watch him for you, Kat," Burl answered wondering what she had mean to say.

"Thanks. You're a lifesaver," Kat said.

"Do you need me to feed him?"

"Nah, we ate earlier," Kat answered. Flustered, she added, "I mean, I all ready fed him."

"Okay," Burl replied.

"I better get Herbie ready," Kat said.

"Just bring him over when you're ready to go," Burl said.

Kat said, "I'll be over in ten minutes. I don't want to be late."

He watched her go into the house thinking it was sad that a woman her age was a widow. He felt the country should provide better benefits when a woman lost her husband in defense of the country, but it didn't. It was a shame, but he was just one man and no one wanted to hear his opinion on the matter. Sighing, he went into the house to prepare a dinner.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on his door. He opened it to find Kat standing there holding Herbie's hand. He nodded at her before looking down at Herbie. The six year old was carrying a coloring book and box of crayons.

Smiling, Burl asked, "How's it going, Herbie?"

"Same old, same old," Herbie answered.

Burl laughed at the greeting. He asked, "Have you been hanging around your granddad?"

"Yep," Herbie answered with a broad grin.

"I got cartoons on the television. You know where it is," Burl said while gesturing into the house.

Herbie rushed into the house excited at the prospect of spending an evening watching cartoons. It was a rare treat.

"I really want to thank you for watching him," Kat said.

"No problem. It'll give me some company for a change," Burl said.

Burl lived a rather isolated life outside of work. His evenings were spent watching history programs and reading books. His Sundays were spent doing house work, laundry, and yard work. There were times when he found something he could do to help someone, but those opportunities were less common than one might believe.

His lonely lifestyle wasn't by choice. His Saturdays were spent at work and that limited his ability to socialize Friday nights and Saturdays. Even if he was able to break free, it wouldn't do him much good. He hadn't met a woman who was interested in dating him. He wasn't the kind of man women found attractive.

Kat frowned at hearing that. She said, "I really appreciate you doing this for me. I won't be out too late."

"Don't worry about it, just have fun on your date," Burl said.

"Ya, right," Kat said with a frown.

He watched walk over to her seven year old Hugo. It seemed to him that she wasn't all that excited about having a date that evening. He'd be jumping up and down. Of course, he didn't go out on dates. Dates were something that younger, better looking people did. He closed the door thinking, 'She's attractive and I'm not.'

He called out, "Hey, Herbie! I'm making Macaroni and Cheese. You want some?"

"Nah. I had that for dinner," Herbie shouted back.

"There's plenty for both of us," Burl called out.

He went over to the stove and looked at the noodles that were boiling. He had been a little quick in his attempt to cook something Herbie would enjoy eating. Packaged macaroni was cheap, filling, and quick to prepare. It made sense that she had served him something like that before heading out on her date. He should have thought about that.

He opened the grocery store package with sliced ham and dropped the meat into a frying pan. He sighed and turned up the heat under the ham. It was going to be another gourmet meal – macaroni and cheese, fried ham, and a chilled single serving container of canned pears.

"Uncle Burl?"

Herbie came into the kitchen while a commercial was airing on the television.

"What Herbie?"

"Are you making the kid's kind of macaroni and cheese?" Herbie asked looking around for the box.

"You bet. I got the box with the cartoon dog on it," Burl answered.

He held up the box for Herbie to see. He always kept a box of macaroni and cheese that was printed with a kid theme on it for those times when he babysat Herbie. He didn't really care what was on the box, it all tasted the same to him. It didn't matter if the pasta was weirdly shaped.

Herbie grinned at seeing the box. It always surprised him that Uncle Burl kept stuff around specifically for him. It made him feel special.

"I'll take some. Momma made the adult kind. It was the white box with black writing on it. She said that it was on sale," Herbie said.

"Well, you can have some of the kid's stuff," Burl said.

Feeling a little guilty for serving Herbie macaroni and cheese, he wondered how many boxes of the stuff the poor kid ate that week. It seemed to him that Herbie ate cold cereal every morning, bologna sandwiches every lunch, and either hotdogs, spaghetti, tuna fish casserole, or eggs with corned beef hash for dinner. That reminded him that he might want to invite them over for hamburgers, corn on the cob, and potato salad either Saturday or Sunday night.

"Great," Herbie said.

Burl heard the commercial end and the cartoon start. The boy ran back into the living room to watch some more cartoons. Herbie wasn't going to miss a single minute of cartoons. One of the local broadcast station showed cartoons in the late afternoon and all of the local stations had them on Saturday mornings. Herbie wasn't going to miss one minute of cable cartoon shows.

Burl knew that Kat was overwhelmed with bills. Her late husband had a reasonably good job until he joined the service. That had hurt his income, but there had been other benefits that offset the loss. They had managed to get by while he was in active service.

His death had devastated the family's budget. It had taken her far longer to collect benefits than she had thought it would. When the insurance money finally arrived, she spent it to cover the costs for the funeral and to payoff a significant fraction of the mortgage on the house. She had refinanced the house to make the payments easier to afford. A few repairs to the house, such as a new roof and a paint job, had eaten what little money had been leftover from the insurance money.

Her financial strategy had worked initially, but prices had gone up, tips had gone down, and her car required frequent repairs. Now she was left with a small widow pension and a waitressing job at the local diner that just didn't cover the bills.

She was doing okay until recently. The kindergarten program had increased the price of their after school program. The heating oil company came out to service her heater and had declared it was a hopeless cause. The burner was over thirty years old and had to be replaced. Not satisfied with VA healthcare, she tried to carry a health insurance policy to cover her and her son.

When Burl had found Kat crying about her financial woes, he had told her that she could get free tv by getting a special antenna and converter for her television. When he brought over a 'used' antenna and converter, she had immediately canceled cable television. Since then, Herbie couldn't wait to watch cartoons on Burl's television.

Dinner didn't take too long to cook. He prepared two plates. For Herbie, he put a little ham, cut up into small pieces, on a small plate along with a small serving of macaroni and cheese. He added two slices of canned pears on the plate thinking a growing boy could always use extra fruits in his diet. He loaded his plate with everything leftover. He carried the plates out to the living room.

Herbie was seated on the floor next to the coffee table. His coloring book was open to a picture of a sail boat. He was coloring the sail while watching the cartoon. His ability to stay within the lines was inversely proportional to the attention he was giving the cartoon. So far the cartoon was winning.

Burl put Herbie's plate down on the table along with a spoon. He knew Herbie had a problem using a fork when it came to small items like peas, macaroni, and corn. There would come a time when Herbie would be insulted by the presence of the spoon, but that was a while in the future. Until then, it was just easier to cut up the food into bite sized chunks and give him a spoon.

Burl said, "Eat up."

"Wow," Herbie said wide-eyed.

He picked up a small chunk of ham using his fingers. He didn't get meat like this very often. The piece of ham was quickly followed by a slice of pear. He felt that eating utensils were only required when the food was too messy. It was a view not shared by his mother.

"I thought you'd like that," Burl said.

"I love it," Herbie said.

Although there was a lot more food on his plate, Burl finished his meal before Herbie. It appeared that not only was Herbie's ability to color inversely proportional to the attention he gave the television so was his ability to eat. The food disappeared off the plate almost by magic when a commercial came on the television.

Once he had finished eating, Herbie asked, "Uncle Burl?"

"What?"

Herbie asked, "Why does momma cry after her dates?"

"Maybe she misses your daddy," Burl answered.

"I miss him too, but I don't cry," Herbie said.

"Why not?" Burl asked.

"Big boys don't cry," Herbie answered trying to sound tough.

"Sure they do. Cowboys cry in their beer," Burl said.

He figured that Herbie missed his father and didn't know how to deal with his emotions. Getting in touch with his feelings of loss would probably do him some good. Cowboys crying in their beer would give expressing his sadness about losing his father legitimacy. Burl wasn't of the mindset that men ignored their feelings. Of course, he wasn't of the mindset that men went around wearing their emotions on their shirtsleeve.

Herbie asked, "Really?"

"That's what the songs say," Burl answered. "I bet young cowboys cry in their root beer."

"Maybe I should be a cowboy," Herbie said. It was both a question and a statement.

"Maybe I should buy you some root beer," Burl said.

"I'd like that," Herbie said.

"Remember, you've got to drink it real slow so that you finish crying before you finish your root beer. You don't really cry into the glass. You just take little sips while crying. I think that's part of the rules," Burl said. "If you follow the rules, no one can call you names."

"I'll 'member that, Uncle Burl," Herbie said.

The next cartoon started and Herbie turned to watch it. Burl sat back and picked up the book he was reading. He figured he'd get through a page or two before the next commercial. Herbie tended to watch the cartoons and then chat with him during the commercials.

The only problem with his plan was that his mind wasn't really on the book. He kept wondering about the things Kat had said about her date. She had been a widow for more than four years now. Burl felt she should be getting on with her life. She was pretty enough to be able to attract about any man she might want. A nice stable boyfriend would be good for her. Herbie needed a good role model.

The evening progressed with Herbie watching cartoons and Burl reading a book on the Civil War. This was his fourth book on the subject over the last month. It wasn't that he was particularly passionate about the Civil War, but he found it somewhat interesting. The idea of brother fighting brother sickened him and he wondered how emotions could have run so high.

He wasn't a political type of person, but he felt at times that the country was on the verge of another civil war. This one wouldn't be along state lines although state rights was one of the issues that today's conflict had in common with the civil war. There were two very polarized political philosophies at play and he didn't like the direction the conflict was headed.

Television coverage of current events was extremely polarized. It had stopped being a presentation of the facts and became incessant espousing of opinion. It was so bad he couldn't watch the news any more. Instead, he watched history programs and read books. He read a lot of books.

"Uncle Burl?"

"What, Herbie?"

"If you had to be a superhero, which one would you like to be?" Herbie asked.

"The Pillsbury Dough Boy," Burl answered.

"He's not a superhero," Herbie protested.

Burl replied, "I know, but I already look like him."

Herbie laughed and then said, "You do."

"So which superhero would you like to be?" Burl asked.

"Captain America," Herbie answered.

Burl said, "That's a real good choice."

"My daddy was a lieutenant in the Army," Herbie said.

Burl said, "I know. He was a good man and would have become a captain before long."

"Why did the eye-rackies kill him?" Herbie asked.

His grandfather was always talking about the damned eye-rackies. He blamed the clowns in Washington for sending his son over to be killed by the damned eye-rackies. Herbie wasn't sure what eye-rackies were, but he didn't like them. He wasn't sure why his father went where a clown told him to go. The fact was that he was confused by the whole thing.

Burl answered, "I don't know. There are just some bad people in this world."

"I'd like to kill them all," Herbie said.

"No you don't. Superheroes don't kill people. They catch them and take them to jail," Burl said.

"I know," Herbie said depressed, "but they killed my daddy."

"I was proud to know your father. He was a good man. He loved you and your mother a whole lot," Burl said.

"So why did he join the Army and get killed?" Herbie asked.

"He loved you so much that he wanted to make a better world for you. He thought if he was able to get rid of some of the bad men that the world would be a better place," Burl said.

"Grampa says that we should just nuke the eye-rack," Herbie said.

"I'm sure he does," Burl said.

"I don't get it. Why put eye-rack in a microwave?" Herbie asked.

"He means to bomb it with an atomic bomb," Burl said.

"That makes sense," Herbie said.

He noticed that the commercial was over and turned to watch the television. It was a new set of cartoons. This particular show was about kids rather than superheroes.

Burl hoped that the new cartoon would end the questions about Herbie's father. It always made him uneasy to talk to Herbie about his father. He liked and respected Jimmy. The man had been a good neighbor and it was shame that a man like him had died so young.

Taking him by surprise, there was a knock on the side door. He glanced at the clock and realized Kat had only been gone for two hours. Since a date usually lasted longer than that, he was pretty sure that his visitor wasn't Kat. He wondered who would be knocking on his side door, since everyone else he knew used the front door.

Opening the door, he was surprised to find Kat standing there. Her eyes were red and she had lost the makeup around them. It looked like she had been crying.

"Oh, you're back. I guess the date didn't go well," Burl said.

"It went well enough," Kat replied.

"You're back early," Burl said puzzled by her reply.

Kat said, "I'll get Herbie out of your hair."

"He's been great. He's busy watching cartoons. Would you like some coffee?" Burl asked.

"No. It's been a long night," Kat answered.

Gesturing inside the house, Burl said, "Okay. Come on in and we'll collect Herbie."

"Thanks," Kat said.

While walking through the kitchen, Burl said, "I was thinking of cooking some burgers outside tomorrow night. Would you and Herbie like to join me?"

"That would nice," Kat said.

"I'll make some corn on the cob and potato salad," Burl said.

"I can bring over some pudding," Kat said. They had reached the living room. She looked over at Herbie and said, "Time to head home."

"Can I watch some more tv?" Herbie whined.

"No. It's getting late," Kat said.

Taking his time, Herbie gathered together his crayons. He had dumped them all out earlier, but now he put them back one at a time while keeping an eye on the television. If he worked slow enough he could possibly get in one more cartoon.

"Herbert!"

"Yes, mom," Herbie replied.

She didn't need to say a word about why she was yelling at him. She always used the same tone of voice when he was dithering. He started putting the crayons away two at a time.

"Are you okay?" Burl asked concerned by her appearance and demeanor.

"I'm just tired," Kat said.

Burl said, "Are you sure that you wouldn't like a cup of coffee or tea?"

"No," Kat answered sharply.

"I don't mean to pressure you. It's just that you look a little upset," Burl said.

"Thanks for the offer. You're a nice guy, Burl," Kat said putting a hand on his arm.

It seemed to her that he was always there reaching out with a helping hand. If she hadn't had such a bad night, she would have enjoyed a cup of tea with him. All she wanted at the moment was to be alone.

Herbie finally packed away the last crayon. He walked over to his mother and said, "I'm ready."

Kat said, "Thanks a lot for watching him tonight."

"My pleasure," Burl said.

He walked the pair over to the side door and let them out. He said, "Good night, Kat. Good night, Herbie."

"Nite, Uncle Burl," Herbie said.

"Good night, Burl," Kat said.

Burl watched the pair make the short trek across the two driveways to the side door of Kat's house. He was worried about Kat. Her behavior suggested that something pretty bad had happened on the date. She came home less than two hours after leaving on her date, her eyes were red from crying, and she was claiming that eight at night was late. Something was definitely wrong and he had an idea what it was.

He went into his office and started up the computer. After ten minutes of surfing the net, he stared at a webpage feeling sad. There on the page was a picture of woman in a bikini who looked a lot like Kat although her face was blurred out. The ad stated she was available for one night only at the rate of a hundred and eighty dollars an hour.

Anguished, he said, "Oh, Kat. You didn't!"



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Chapter 2


Patrolling the mall early Saturday morning meant staying out of the way of the horde of mall walkers who descended upon the place. Little old ladies who walked at a snail's pace blocked the paths of soccer moms who power-walked. Occasionally a walker would trip for no apparent reason and he would have to write up a report. About once a year, an elderly walker would clutch his or her chest and he would have to call for an ambulance.

Burl hated working Saturday mornings. It wasn't the mall walkers who made him feel that way. After all, they were there every morning. He hated the horde of teenage girls that would arrive shortly after the stores opened. It seemed like every weekend one or more of them would get talked into shoplifting some item from a store. It was his job to take statements from the store personnel and the suspect.

The girls traveled in packs chattering and acting like a troop of angry baboons. He wished he had a nickle for every time one of them had made a nasty comment about his weight and general build. He wasn't the only target of their biting tongues. Every Saturday he was called upon to break up a couple of shouting matches.

Burl made his way around the mall while stores were opening. His route took him by the candle shop where Mrs. Temple was trying to raise the metal gate. She was a short woman, an inch shy of five feet tall, and always had trouble raising and lowering the gate. It seemed to him that the elderly woman was shrinking.

"Hello, Mrs. Temple. Let me help you with that," Burl said while approaching the store.

"Thank goodness you're here, Burl. I can never get that damned thing all of the way up," Mrs. Temple said.

Burl reached up and pushed the gate so that the storefront was completely open. She could get it most of the way up, but the last foot always gave her troubles. There was a little footstool that she could use, but it was a lot easier when Burl helped out.

He said, "There you go."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Mrs. Temple said. She gave him a big smile.

"You'd hire someone taller to open the store in the morning," Burl said repeating a conversation that took place nearly every morning.

"I hired a new girl. You might want to stop by and meet her. She's real cute," Mrs. Temple said.

Burl frowned. Mrs. Temple was one of a number of store owners who was always trying to fix him up with young women. Half in jest, he mentally refered to them as the gray haired matchmaking brigade. They meant well, but young attractive women had their sights set a little higher up the social scale than him.

"I'll do that, Mrs. Temple," Burl said.

Mrs. Temple said, "Don't give me that sour look. You'll like her."

"Me liking her isn't the problem, Mrs. Temple," Burl replied, "Getting her to like me is."

"Balderdash and poppycock. You're a nice young man," Mrs. Temple said. "A girl would have to be pretty shallow to let a good catch like you get away."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Burl said.

This was about the time when the conversation would get awkward. Usually she would start to discuss his past failures to win the attraction of the women to whom he had been introduced. Rather than continue on with the topic, he said, "I better get on with my route."

"Stop by later, Burl," Mrs. Temple said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Burl said.

She watched him walk away thinking it was a shame that such a nice young man was still single. She returned to the store to finish preparing for a day of sales. Weekends had a lot of browsers who picked up candles and smelled them, but not a lot of sales. That meant she had to spend a lot of time straightening out the displays.

Denise was zipping down the mall on her wheelchair. She had a special tray that held a dozen medium cups of coffee. She had a parttime business as a mall runner working afternoons and weekends. She delivered items from the food court to business owners who couldn't get away from the store. Basically working for tips, she pulled in a decent income despite having lost both legs in an automobile accident.

"Hey, Burl. How's it goin'?" Denise asked.

Grinning, she pulled up to a stop in front of Burl. He had helped her get her business started. She had been at the mall looking for a parttime job. He had suggested the delivery business to her and then had taken her around to meet all of the people working in the food court. It took about three days for her to get established as a fixture in the mall.

"It's going. Looks like you're busy today," Burl said while gesturing to the tray of coffees.

Denise smiled and said, "Saturday mornings are always good for business. Too many of the shop clerks drink too much Friday nights and get in late Saturday mornings. They're all screaming for coffee."

"Don't let me delay you. We can't have hangovers hurting business," Burl said with a grin.

"I'll see you around," Denise said heading off down the mall.

"Take it easy," Burl said watching her go.

She could really move that wheelchair. For a high school student, she wasn't going to let a little setback stop her. She was always looking for an angle to improve her business. Sometimes she delivered goods from one store to another.

Burl thought to himself, "She's going to go far in life."

The shoe store was running a little late in opening that morning. Burl stopped in front of the store and saw that the manager was running around taking care of some last minute details. He waved to the manager who acknowledged him with a curt nod.

Burl continued on his way knowing the store would be open soon. He was supposed to write up any store that opened late, but he normally gave them a few minutes leeway. There was no need to beat up someone who was trying to make a living. He felt sorry for a guy in his mid-forties stuck selling shoes in a discount shoe store. It wasn't the kind of future that young men out of high school dreamed about.

The remaining stores on that end of the mall were all open. He paused at the door of each store and waved to the sales people inside. He knew most of the folks working in the smaller stores by name. The large department stores were a different matter. They provided their own security in the form of surveillance cameras and seldom called upon mall security unless there was a major problem.

Upon hearing the rattle of the gate at the shoe store, he took his push to talk radio from his belt and called in that all of the stores on the west wing of the mall were open. Shelly, the young woman working the office, acknowledged his call. It was followed by a call from the security guard who was walking along the east wing.

The hordes of teenage girls were beginning to arrive. There was a swarm of them over at the food court waiting in line to get cinnamon buns. He could hear them giggling from forty feet away. One of them gave forth a shrill squeal that shot daggers through his brain. He sighed thinking it was going to be a long day.

He headed over to the taco stand for a cup of coffee. The taco place sold a breakfast burrito and coffee first thing in the morning. He didn't like the burrito, but prefered their coffee to the gourmet brands that the coffee shop sold and the short line compared to long line that formed up at the burger place.

Stepping up to the counter, he said, "Hello Juanita."

"Hey, Burl," she replied.

She held out a cup of coffee for him. "Just like you like it."

"Thanks," Burl said.

He dug through his pocket and pulled out his money clip. It took him a few seconds to find two dollar bills. He dropped them on the counter and said, "Keep the change."

"You always leave us a tip," Juanita said collecting the bills. She made the change and dumped it into the tip jar they kept there to get a little of the change back for service. It helped make the low pay a little better.

"How are the kids?" Burl asked.

Juanita had three kids, aged 6, 8, and 9, who often spent the day at the shop. They tried to help out at the stand, but it was usually with activities out of sight of the customers. Having them there allowed Juanita and her husband to keep from having to hire an additional person. The accommodation made the little store solvent. Burl figured there were laws preventing kids from working like that, but he wasn't going to make the call.

He knew that he was a little old fashioned when it came to raising kids. He didn't think there was anything wrong with kids working in a family business. They learned to appreciate money and developed good work habits. The parents were able to take a little more money out of the store and that benefitted the kids.

"They're getting the food ready for the lunch rush," Juanita answered.

Burl said, "The morning is going to be overcast, but the afternoon will clear up. You'll probably get a good lunch crowd, but the evening rush is going to be more like a trickle."

"Si," Juanita said.

Burl took a drink of his coffee. She was right. It was fixed it just like he liked it.

Juanita said, "Mrs. Temple has a new girl starting work today. You might want to stop by and meet her."

"She already told me," Burl said.

"No need for the ugly face. I'm sure you'll like her," Juanita said.

Burl wondered why all of the women thought he was the problem. Rather than address the question, he said, "I guess I better make another round of the mall."

"I start talking about senoritas and you run away," Juanita said in a teasing voice.

"You know how bachelors are," Burl said.

"Si," Juanita said.

She wondered how a nice guy like him remained single. She recognized that he wasn't great looking, but he was a real nice guy. There had to be a woman out there for him.

"I'll be by later," Burl said.

"Adios," Juanita said.

"Adios," Burl replied.

He waved to Denise when she wheeled towards him with another tray of coffees. After coasting for the fraction of a second it took to wave at him, she continued on her way. Mornings and lunch time were two of her busiest times of the day on weekends. He'd see her a half dozen times rolling from one end of the mall to the other.

There was an argument between two packs of girls. It was nothing physical, just a lot of name calling. He would have ignored it except the language wasn't appropriate for a family environment. These girls liked to drop the f-bomb for the shock value. He stepped in and sent the two groups to opposite ends of the mall.

It seemed to him that he probably walked ten miles a day. He shouldn't have a weight problem with that much exercise, but he did. He wasn't really fat, but he was big boned and just heavy looking. He wasn't sure why he was so heavy.

He took his lunch break in the food court. A food order from the chinese place served as lunch. Of course, Mrs. Wong informed him about the new girl starting at the candle shop. There was the typical exchange about how he would like her. All of this was based on the word of Mrs. Temple.

After lunch there was a shoplifting incident at the earring shop. A young woman had tried to walk off with a pair of earrings. Unfortunately for her, the store owner had a sharp eye for shoplifters. It was necessary when the stock he carried was small and easy to hide. He had her pay for them and she was warned never to come back in the store.

Keeping out of the discussion as much as possible, Burl wrote up the incident. He knew that next week the girl would be back in the same store again. Hopefully the next time she visited the mall she wouldn't steal something.

The afternoon dragged on. The mall crowd reduced in size commensurate with the improving weather outside. With the changing of seasons, nice weather was coming to an end and no one wanted to waste a chance to enjoy it while it was here.

It was approaching the end of his shift and he figured it was about time to face Mrs. Temple. He headed over to the candle shop. Before entering, he checked out the woman standing beside Mrs. Temple. She was an attractive woman in a girl next door kind of way.

Tina nudged Mrs. Temple and said, "Check out the fat guy in the mall security uniform."

"That's Burl," Mrs. Temple said with a chill in her voice.

"That's the guy you want me to meet?" Tina asked incredulously.

"Yes," Mrs. Temple answered.

"I don't do fat guys," Tina said contemptuously.

"He's a nice guy," Mrs. Temple said. She would have said more, but Burl was approaching the counter. She turned to him and said, "Hello, Burl."

"Hello, Mrs. Temple," Burl said. He gave a short nod to Tina noting the contemptuous look she was giving him. "My shift is about over and I thought I'd stop by to see if there was anything you needed."

"That sure is thoughtful of you. I think everything here is under control," Mrs. Temple replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," Burl said.

Mrs. Temple glanced over at Tina and decided that an introduction wasn't necessary. She wasn't very pleased with the woman's attitude. In fact, her opinion of the young woman had lowered significantly.

"I guess we'll see you Tuesday," Mrs. Temple said.

"Sure," Burl said.

He glanced over at Tina and then back to Mrs. Temple. It was pretty obvious that an introduction wasn't on the menu. He was pretty sure he knew the reason.

Burl said, "Have a nice day."

"You too," Mrs. Temple said.

Burl left the candle shop feeling a little humiliated by the awkward conversation. Everyone there knew why he had stopped by the candle shop. The absence of an introduction spoke volumes.

Disheartened, he left the mall. Rather than going straight home, he headed towards the grocery store to get food for the barbecue. Kat and Herbie were coming over to the house later. After the humiliation in the mall, he was looking forward to some friendly company. At least Kat treated him nicely and wasn't always trying to fix him up with women. Spending an evening with her definitely beat spending another evening alone. He just hoped that Kat was in a better mood than the previous evening.

At the store he headed over to the meat department. He grabbed a package of four hamburger patties. Looking at the package, he decided to grab two steaks figuring that he and Kat could eat them tonight with a burger for Herbie. He could invite them over for burgers Sunday. Herbie wouldn't mind having hamburgers two nights in a row.

One of the reasons he shopped at this particular store was that Mel worked there. He had known her since high school. They had run with the same crowd. It had slowly disbanded over the years with people getting married and caught up in family life. Burl made a point of keeping up with what everyone was doing with their lives.

He stood in line at Mel's register. When it was his turn, she said, "Hey, Burl. How's it going?"

"It's going good enough," Burl said pleasantly.

"Two steaks and some burgers. Are you having a party?" Mel asked.

"Just having Kat and Herbie over for a little barbecue," Burl answered.

"How's she doing?" Mel asked.

She didn't know Kat all that well, but had worked with Jimmy in the grocery store. That had been before he had joined the Army. She had been shocked upon learning of his death.

"She's getting by," Burl answered.

Mel said, "I liked Jimmy. It's a shame he was killed."

"You can say that again," Burl said.

"She's lucky to have you for a neighbor," Mel said. "A single mother appreciates having someone reliable around."

"I don't do much of anything," Burl said.

"I know you, Burl. You're a softy," Mel said. Glancing over at the register, she said, "That'll be $18.23."

Burl swiped his debit card through the reader. While entering his pin number, he said, "Meat sure is getting expensive."

"I hear that about a thousand times a day," Mel said.

"We're burning our crops. That's never a good thing," Burl said.

"What do you mean?" Mel asked. The idea that people would burn crops was shocking and she wondered if she had missed something on the news.

"We're turning corn into gasoline. That's the same as burning our food. Corn is not only eaten by people, but is used to feed chickens and cows. When we turn corn into fuel, the price of chicken and beef goes up. Hell, the price of nearly everything goes up," Burl said.

"I never thought about it that way," Mel said.

She made a mental note to use that explanation when people complained about the price of meat. She didn't think it would help any, but it might eliminate a few minutes of griping about stores trying to rip off customers. The worse the economy got the more customers complained about prices.

"Nobody does. I get angry every time I see an ad on television about biofuels. I can't help thinking that they might as well be advertising that they are increasing the prices of food," Burl said.

Mel handed him the plastic bag containing his meat. She said, "I'll see you around."

"Sure thing, Mel. Give your husband my regards," Burl said.

"Will do," Mel said.

Burl left the store thinking about turning corn into fuel. He had been reading about Sherman's march to the sea. Sherman's troops had burned everything, including crops, along the way. The damage done by their actions had destroyed the economy of the south for years. It had been a long winter without food. He wondered what the long term damage of the biofuel industry would be. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that it would be bad.



-------

Chapter 3


It was Sunday morning and Burl was headed out the door. Although he regularly went to church, he was not dressed for church. His baggy pants, faded tee shirt, and torn up sneakers wouldn't be welcome in polite society. He put his cap on and headed down the street. Two houses down, he walked over to the front door and rang the bell. It seemed to take forever for anyone to answer it.

"Hey, Burl! How's it going?" George asked.

George was slender and of medium build with short hair. He had a tattoo of a dragon down his left arm. It was a hold over of his younger days as a fan of fantasy literature. He had rough hands that advertized he earned a living working with his hands. Some folks might have been put off by his appearance, but the expression on his face gave him a friendly happy look.

"Can't complain," Burl answered.

"What can I do for ya?"

Burl said, "I heard you were painting."

"Yep. The old battle axe wants me to paint the nursery before she drops the kid," George said with a wink.

"I heard that!"

"Sorry, the kindly pregnant woman wants her loving husband to fix up the nursery before the blessed event occurs," George said.

"That's better!"

Burl listened to the exchange before he said, "I thought I'd drop by and see if you needed a hand."

"That's real neighborly of you," George said. "I was just about to get started."

"That's about what I figured," Burl said.

"Come on in. I'm sure that Maggie would love to chat with you for a bit while I put on some shoes," George said.

Burl entered the house. Maggie, a small woman, was seated on the couch. She was wearing a maternity dress that looked like someone had hidden an over inflated beach ball inside it. She struggled a little to get up and then gave up. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy and wasn't moving in an agile manner.

"Hello, Burl," Maggie said while waving at him.

"Hello, Maggie. You're looking good," Burl said.

"I hope you don't mind me not getting up," Maggie said.

"Stay comfortable," Burl said. "It looks like you're due any day now."

"One week," Maggie said patting her protruding belly. "I'll be glad to rid of this extra weight."

"Have you decided on a name for him?" Burl asked.

"George wants to name him Waldo – like that is ever gonna happen," Maggie said.

"Waldo is a great name," George shouted from the bedroom.

"We're not naming the kid Waldo," Maggie shouted.

"So what are you going to name him?"

Maggie said, "We'll probably name him after his father and call him Junior."

"That sounds reasonable to me," Burl said.

"George gave me a choice. It was either that or Waldo," Maggie said.

George came out of the bedroom and said, "I'm ready. We've got to get that room painted before Waldo shows up."

"It's almost too late," Maggie said.

"You didn't pick out the color for the room until yesterday," George said.

"That's because it took me until yesterday to convince you to paint it some color other than white," Maggie said.

The tone of their discussion wasn't argumentative. Everything was said in a teasing tone of voice. Burl knew from past experience the couple would tease and kid around, but when there was a real problem they both got very serious and pulled together.

"My Dad always said that walls were supposed to be white," George said.

Burl said, "My dad always said the same thing. Mom disagreed. That's why there's not a single white room in my folk's house."

George laughed.

Maggie said, "Your father is a very wise man."

"I think so," Burl said.

George said, "I've got everything set up to start painting."

"Let's get to it," Burl said.

George went over to where Maggie was resting on the couch. He leaned down so that his head was next to her belly. In a soft voice, he said, "Where's Waldo?"

He put a hand on Maggie's belly and said, "Ah! Here's Waldo."

Smiling, Maggie rolled her eyes. "Get out of here."

"Yes, Ma'am," George said.

The two men went into the second bedroom that was to be the nursery. The furniture had been pushed into the center of the room and covered with a drop cloth. The floor was covered with a drop cloth as well. Two cans of paint and two rollers (one for the flat wall and one for the corner) were in a pile in the corner of the room.

"She picked out a baby blue paint. We're going to leave the trim white," George said.

Burl looked at the walls to assess how much prep work would be required. He was surprised since it looked freshly painted.

"It looks like you painted it white recently," Burl said.

George said, "Yep. She wanted it white six months ago. I painted it white. Now she wants it blue. I'm going to paint it blue."

"Whatever it takes to keep the peace," Burl said.

He knew that pregnant women often changed their minds and arguing wasn't the best policy if you wanted peace. He knew George was smart enough to know that.

George held up a roll of tape and asked, "Do you want to tape the trim?"

Knowing George was giving him the easy job, Burl answered, "Sounds good to me."

"I'll start painting the ceiling," George said.

The two men went to work without any additional talk. Burl taped the trim around the bedroom door frame and the closet door frame. When he got around to the first window, he noticed that they were new. He had known George had done a lot of work around the house, but had somehow missed seeing him change the windows.

"I see you got new windows," Burl said.

"Yep. We don't want Junior to grow up in a drafty room," George said.

He hadn't realized how much money it cost to have a baby. He had thought the biggest expense would be the hospital bill. No one had told him about the other things they would have to do to provide a good home for the baby.

Fixing the house up had cost a fortune. They had gone through the house and childproofed everything. Every drawer and cabinet had been fitted with devices that prevented them from being opened. There were minor and major repairs to make it a healthier place to live. Carpets had been replaced because the old ones were too dirty.

There had been some new furniture purchases, including a crib, that had eaten into their budget. Fortunately, their friends and family had given them a lot of stuff. In fact, Burl had brought over a very nice changing table that looked like it cost a fortune. Maggie had been so overwhelmed that she had cried upon seeing it.

Burl said, "That sounds reasonable to me. I mean, you have to take care to keep the baby healthy."

"The damned things cost five hundred each after getting them installed," George said. "It would have cost more, but the guy dropped the price for cash payment."

"Cash is king," Burl said.

"You can say that again. The f'ing government makes it damned near impossible to do business," George said.

Burl asked, "Speaking of business, how is the car repair business?"

"Better than ever. People are fixing cars rather than buying new ones. We've got more customers than we can handle," George answered.

They would have hired more people to work there, but the owner had no clue what the new laws would mean in terms of keeping anyone he hired. The owner was afraid Congress was going to increase his taxes. The insurance company had already increased it's rates. Everyone was working overtime. George wasn't going to complain since he could use the extra money.

"That's good," Burl said. "It's not that good at the mall."

The mall had lost a number of stores over the past two years. There had always been a turnover of stores in the past, but even some of the stores that had been there for ages had closed. There were a number of empty stores waiting for someone to rent them.

A number of chain companies had taken to opening temporary stores – stores that were open only for the holiday season. There was a costume company that rented a spot for the two months before Halloween and then switched over to Christmas decorations after Halloween. Two toy companies had each rented a spot for the two months before Christmas. Considering that a lot of retail stores made the majority of their money between Thanksgiving and Christmas, only being open during that time period made a lot of sense. It did mean that a lot of people didn't have jobs during the rest of the year.

George said, "It keeps me busy. At least I'm working."

"There is that," Burl said.

"I noticed you had Kat and Herbie over last night," George said.

He had been cooking some burgers out in the backyard when he noticed Burl hosting a barbecue of his own. His wife had commented Kat could do worse than to hook up with Burl. Of course, she had immediately followed that comment with another one about how Burl would have to lose some weight before Kat would be interested in him. After all, Jimmy had been a hunk.

Burl said, "Yeah, she's having a rough time. You know ... money problems. I thought having them over for a little barbecue would help cheer her up."

"That's nice of you," George said.

"She really misses Jimmy," Burl said.

"They were still basically newlyweds when he was killed," George said.

"They had been married for three years," Burl said.

George grinned. "Like I said, they were still newlyweds. Maggie and I have been married two years. I still feel about her like I did the day I married her."

Burl said, "You're lucky."

"You aren't saying anything I don't already know. I've got a great wife and I can't wait for Waldo to get born," George said.

"We're not naming him Waldo!"

"She's got good ears," Burl remarked.

"She learned that at Battle Axe school," George said talking in a stage whisper that was sure to carry to the next room.

"I heard that!"

"See," George said.

Burl laughed. George was always making comments like that, but everyone knew he was teasing her. Heaven help the person who insulted Maggie. They would not like George's reaction. George would be all over them like a duck on a junebug.

George said, "I'm looking forward to that whole fatherhood thing. I mean, I can't wait for the day when I teach him how to catch a baseball. We'll do t-ball and then little league."

"What about changing diapers?" Burl asked knowing that raising a baby wasn't all fun and games.

"Big deal. I do that for my sister's kids all of the time," George said. He waved the roller around. "My Dad always said that if you make a kid, then you better take care of the kid. He said that included changing diapers."

"My Dad didn't say anything about that. I figure he figured that I wasn't going to be making any kids," Burl said.

"There's a girl out there for you," George said.

"What about Kat?" Maggie called out.

"She's got really good ears," Burl said looking back at the bedroom door.

"She does," George said. "She's got a point. What about Kat?"

"Kat's got too much going for her to settle for fat security mall cop," Burl said. He held up a hand to forestall any arguments. "Don't argue that one. You'll lose."

"Okay. I won't argue, but I think you're wrong," George said.

Burl said, "She's still in mourning. It's going to take a real special guy to snap her out of that."

"You might be right," George said.

"You're a special guy," Maggie shouted.

"I got the gray haired matchmaking brigade at work trying to fix me up with every new girl who starts working at the mall. I'm tired of it," Burl said. He sighed.

"It's just that you're a great guy, Burl. Don't even try to deny that for a minute. Who came over here to help me paint without me even asking you to help? You did. You do things like that all of the time," George said.

He knew that Burl mowed Kat's lawn. In the winter, Burl shoveled the snow off his driveway and sidewalk and then helped three widows who lived on the street by clearing the snow off their driveways and sidewalks. There were times when George was embarrassed after watching Burl out there working so hard and had to go out to help just to feel better about himself.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew that you could count on Burl for a helping hand. If an emergency babysitter was needed, call on Burl. If you needed a ride to work, call Burl. The guy always shrugged it off claiming that the alternative was sitting alone in his house. He never asked for help.

Burl picked up the corner roller and said, "I'll start on the corners."

"Don't use that. I got a package of disposable corner paint pads over there somewhere. They work better," George said.

Burl leaned over and found the corner paint pads in a plastic bag with the logo of a hardware store on it. He pulled one out of the package and looked at it. He looked over the package to see how to use it. There were pictures without any text.

"It looks easy enough to use," Burl said. "The package doesn't say they are disposable."

"As far as I'm concerned, at a buck each they are disposable," George said. "I like them. No cleaning. I just toss them into an empty paint can when I'm done with them. No muss. No fuss."

He decided that George was right after painting the corner formed by the ceiling and the wall. It left a nice even strip of paint along the ceiling and the wall. It was a bit of a reach to get that high, but Burl was tall enough to reach it.

"Are you going to throw a party when Waldo is born?" Burl asked.

"His name is Junior!"

"She's got really good ears," Burl said.

"I want to throw one. I figure some hot dogs, beer, sausages, beer, maybe a tray of ziti, beer, and some beer," George said.

Knowing that George was a teetotaler, Burl laughed. "I'll bring some beer over."

"Nah! You're a guest," George said.

Burl said, "No way. I got a better idea. We can have the party at my place."

"We can host it," George said protesting.

Burl said, "No, think about it. Mother and child can rest in peace at home. Maggie is going to be tired and babies sleep all of the time. Having a crowd over here will tire out Maggie and keep the baby awake. They can come visit the party when Junior is awake. Folks can come over here one or two at a time and see the baby."

"Maybe," George said thinking it did make a bit of sense.

Burl added, "You won't have a mess to clean up afterwards and I know Maggie will appreciate not having to clean up after a party. I'll make sure you'll get lots of leftovers so Maggie won't have to cook."

"That does sound kind of nice," George said.

"We'll schedule it for the first Saturday after the baby is born," Burl said.

George stood there puzzled trying to figure out when that would be. Giving up, he said, "We aren't sure when the baby will be born. How can we schedule it?"

"We'll do it a week after the baby is born. Let's say that the baby is born Friday night. We can't have the party Saturday because most people won't know," Burl said. "So we do it the next Saturday."

"What if it is born Sunday?" George asked.

"Then we have it the next Saturday," Burl answered.

"I guess that makes sense," George said. "You better handle the invitations."

"I'll invite people from around the neighborhood after the baby is born, but you'll probably want to invite the folks from work. There are probably people I don't know that you'll want to invite," Burl said.

He was mentally putting together a list of meats he could cook out on the grill and side dishes that would go along with it. With a little effort he felt that he could handle thirty people if Kat opened up her backyard as well. Chairs would be a problem, but he figured he could borrow some from the other neighbors. He hoped the weather would cooperate. October weather was unpredictable.

"That could be a lot of people," George said.

"We'll keep it to under thirty," Burl said with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. He slapped his forehead with his palm. "We'll have to have it on a Sunday. I work Saturdays."

"Sunday? We can't have it on Sunday. People have to work Monday," George said.

"We're not having a drunken orgy. We're celebrating the birth of Junior," Burl said dismissing the objection. "We'll schedule it for the afternoon. Everyone who goes to church should be home by then and it can end around seven or so."

"I guess," George said.

"George!"

"What, honey?" George called back.

"I need to pee," Maggie called out.

George whispered, "She can't get off the couch."

"You better help her," Burl said.

George said, "I should leave her there to suffer a bit."

"I heard that!"



-------

Chapter 4


The day the party to celebrate Junior's birth was held turned out to be a blistery fall day. Orange, red, and yellow leaves dropped from the trees to be carried by the wind. The rustle of dry leaves rubbing against other leaves provided a background noise easily recognizable as the sound of fall. People wore windbreakers, sweaters, or jackets trying to keep warm in the face of the chilly wind, but their efforts failed. It was too cool for a light jacket, too windy for a sweater, and not cold enough for a heavy jacket.

There were worse days to have an outdoor barbecue, but not many. At least it wasn't raining. The majority of people had retreated inside of Burl's house. It was very crowded in the house with over twenty people milling around in the kitchen and living room. In fact, it was standing room only.

Two hearty individuals, George and Dick, stood around the grill with Burl while he cooked some sausages. The little kettle grill showed its age. He figured that he would have to replace it next season and wondered if he could pick up a good deal on one now.

Burl was providing burgers, sausages, and wings. There was a lot of food inside the house since most of the neighbors had come over with side dishes knowing that he was providing the meat. Kat was inside helping manage the food.

Holding his hands over the grill to warm them, George said, "It sure was nice of you to do this for us."

"My pleasure. I just wish the weather was a little nicer," Burl said.

He felt embarrassed to have squeezed so many people into his small house. The morning had been spent moving furniture out of the public areas of the house so there would be room for everyone. It was still crowded. At least two or three women at a time were down at George's house visiting Maggie and uh-ing and ah-ing over the baby.

Dick, one of the retired men who lived down the street, said, "You can't control the weather."

"That's true," Burl said.

He lifted one of the sausages off the grill and put it on a plate. He cut the sausage into bite sized pieces. Dick stabbed each piece with a toothpick. He popped a piece of sausage into his mouth.

"Mmm, good," Dick mumbled around the piece of food.

"The fellow at the meat market down the street makes it himself," Burl said.

"It's good," George said after sampling a piece.

Burl took another piece of sausage off the grill and set it on the plate. Dick had the knife ready to cut it into slices. There was going to be a pretty good pile of sausage by the time Burl was done with the batch cooking on the grill.

"I keep telling him that he needs to make more and market it to one of those natural food stores, but he says that he just wants to keep his butcher shop," Burl said.

"I'm kind of surprised that he's managed to stay open. Supermarkets have pushed most of the specialty stores out of business," Dick said.

"That's true. I go there because I know he buys the best meat and he cuts it to order," Burl said. "You can't get that at the supermarket."

"Sure you can," Dick said.

"Right. They act like they are doing you a favor," Burl said dismissively. "You try asking a butcher at the supermarket to package meat in half pound packages some time."

"You might be right," Dick said.

"When I get my meat at the supermarket, I have to buy their big packages and repackage all of the meat. It's a real pain in the ass," Burl said.

George asked, "Do you buy all your meat from him?"

"No. I still buy most of my meat at the supermarket. It's that one stop shopping thing," Burl answered.

George said, "I guess we're all guilty of that."

After Burl put the last sausage on the plate, Dick went to work cutting it up. George grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth. He was going to ask Maggie to go pick some up when she went shopping.

Burl started putting burgers out on the grill. "I keep trying to remember to swing by the meat shop, but I get caught up in other things and forget. I guess I'm in the habit of heading over to the supermarket."

"Strange to think of shopping as a habit," Dick said.

Burl said, "Maybe I ought to start swinging by the butcher shop before heading over to the supermarket."

"I don't do the shopping. Maggie does it all," George said. He picked up the plate with sausages and added, "I'll take these in the house."

"Great. Ask Kat if I need to put more wings in the oven," Burl said.

"Will do," George said.

Dick watched George go in the house. Turning back to Burl, Dick said, "Did you hear about someone sending Kat money?"

"She mentioned it to me," Burl said. "She was very happy about it."

Kat had been surprised one day to discover an envelope in the mail containing nothing except for two one hundred dollar bills. There wasn't a return address or a note explaining the money. It was quite a mystery.

"I wonder who would send her money like that," Dick said eyeing Burl.

"Probably one of the men who served with her husband," Burl answered. He pressed down on a couple of burgers with his spatula creating a flare-up when the grease hit the hot coals.

"I think it was a little closer to home than that," Dick said.

"That's an interesting idea," Burl said.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about it?" Dick asked.

Burl said, "If I wanted to give her some money, I could just walk next door. There's no need to mail it."

"That's true," Dick said. "Unless you wanted to remain anonymous."

"There's no need to be anonymous. A lot of people in the neighborhood help her out. George has been taking care of her car. He only charges her parts," Burl said. "You've helped her with plumbing."

"Only the simple stuff," Dick said.

"Still, it helps," Burl said.

"I liked Jimmy. He was a good neighbor," Dick said. "It's a real shame patriotic folks are dying while people who hate the country stay home where it is safe. People like Jimmy are dying so those assholes can ruin the country."

"I never served," Burl said.

Dick looked at Burl and said, "Not having served in the military doesn't make you an asshole. The assholes are the ones who don't appreciate the sacrifice others make on their behalf."

"I could serve," Burl said.

He felt that he could go over and help protect the country. If he were to die in the process ... well ... no one would really miss him. He wouldn't be leaving a widow behind like Jimmy did.

Dick shook his head. He didn't know how to say it, but Burl would be the first guy killed in a battlefield.

"You aren't built for the military," Dick said, "Face it, you're a nice guy Burl. You aren't a fighter. It just ain't in you. Some kid over there will sucker you into a bad situation and you'll be dead."

"I don't know ... maybe you're right," Burl said.

George came out of the house laughing about something someone had said inside. He walked over to Burl. "Kat already put some wings in the oven."

"Great," Burl said.

George said, "I'm going to check on the little woman and Waldo."

"You do that," Burl said. He was pretty sure that Maggie heard George call Junior Waldo despite the fact that she was indoors and two houses down.

"Junior is going to grow up to be a good looking boy. He gets his looks from Maggie," George said jokingly.

"You're lucky," Dick said with equal humor in his voice. "All my boys ended up looking like me."

Not having anything to add to the conversation, Burl concentrated on cooking the burgers. He would love to have a kid or two. He felt there was no finer thing to aspire to than being a father.

George said, "I'll be back in a bit."

Burl flipped the burgers to cook the other side.

Watching George cut across the backyards to his home, Dick said, "He's taking to being a father like a duck to water."

"He's going to be a good father," Burl said.

Dick said, "I'm not surprised. His dad was a good father."

"His dad was always there for him," Burl said. "He'd have been a great grandfather."

George and Burl been in high school together, although they were a year different in age. George's dad had attended every football game and driven the boys home from practice. Burl had made the team, but never got much time on the field. He was big and could fill a spot on the offensive line in a pinch, but he wasn't aggressive enough to really do the kind of job one would expect of a first string player. George had been a tight-end despite the fact that he wasn't really big enough to take the punishment of getting hit by the bigger guys.

It was a shame that George's dad had been killed by a drunk driver two years earlier. It had really hit George hard. Burl had spent many an evening listening to George rant about drunk drivers. Although George talked about drinking, he hadn't taken a drink since the night his father died. He was the first to demand the car keys from anyone who had too much to drink.

"He'd just be a grandfather," Dick corrected. "When Junior has a kid of his own, he would have been a great grandfather."

"You know what I meant," Burl said.

"Just razzing ya'," Dick said.

"So when are you going to be a grandfather?" Burl asked.

"I don't know," Dick said in disgust.

His sons were married, but they didn't seem to be in a hurry to start a family. It seemed to him that too many people were waiting longer to get married and even longer than that to start having children. His kids were in their thirties and were talking like they were going to wait twenty years before starting a family.

Dick said, "I just hope that my daughters-in-law listen to their biological clock someday soon. They aren't going to be happy to discover they can't have children if they wait too much longer."

"I've noticed a lot of women in their late thirties pushing baby carriages in the mall," Burl said. "It seems to me like the more educated and wealthier a couple is, the longer they are waiting to have children. I don't know if that is a good thing or not. They can provide for them better, but I'm not sure they are able to relate to them as well."

"It would be more like grandparents raising a kid than a parent," Dick said. He sighed, "Maybe my generation rushed into it. Most of us were parents by the time we hit twenty-three. We couldn't afford to raise a family, but we did the best we could.

"I remember bringing home a couch my wife had bought one day before learning she was pregnant. I got home with the couch and she told me that we were expecting our first kid. She told me that after I had struggled to bring it into the house. I turned around and took the couch back because we couldn't afford it anymore. Even though we both agreed that it had to go back, my wife cried about the couch for years. I don't blame her.

"We ate the cheap hamburger until the kids were nearly out of school. You know – the garbage that is eighty percent lean and twenty percent fat. Cooking that stuff would make the whole house smell like grease. It formed a film on everything. We ate that lousy meat and stretched our money as much as we could. Tuna casserole – don't even use that word around me. I had so much of that crap that I get sick just smelling it.

"The kids may not have had the best stuff, but they never went without. The money I set aside for a boat went to braces. The money my wife set aside to redo the kitchen went to college tuition. I won't lie and tell you that we weren't disappointed, but taking care of your kids is a major responsibility.

"In a way, I think the boys are trying to avoid being responsible. They make good money, but they spend it almost as fast as they make it. They take expensive vacations, eat out all of the time, and buy every gadget that comes on the market. I want to tell them that its time for them to grow up, but I keep my mouth shut."

"Why?" Burl asked.

"They would just laugh at me," Dick said.

Burl frowned. "Why would they laugh?"

"I'm sure they think I'm just an old fashioned fuddy-duddy. My world view doesn't fit the modern world. To tell the truth, they might be right. There's a lot of things going on today that I don't like. I never had an elected government official tell me that I was too stupid to understand what they are doing," Dick said.

"You aren't alone in thinking that way," Burl said. "I walk around the mall and listen to folks talk. A lot people don't like what is going on today."

Dick said, "People like George are the future. He did something smart. I figured that he and Maggie would have a kid right after they got married. They waited a while and fixed up the house, saved some money, and grew up a little. He's raising the next generation and I think he'll do a better job than we did."

"Did you ever tell him that?" Burl asked.

"No. You don't tell people things like that," Dick said.

"Maybe you should. It helps to have people tell you what you're doing right," Burl said. "I wish people would tell me what I'm doing right. You screw up and everyone is there telling you what you did wrong. I've always known when I've screwed up right after I did it."

"You might be right," Dick said.

"If George's dad were alive, he would be over here giving George advice. I think having someone who has been in trenches giving him advice is something that George really misses," Burl said.

"I'll think about it," Dick said.

Burl said, "Your sons might not be so happy if you were to take George under your wing."

"That's true," Dick said thoughtfully.

"I bet in about a month, George and Maggie will be ready to get out of the house for an evening. I'm sure your wife would make a great babysitter. I'm positive your sons will be relieved to learn that she's getting her 'grandchild' experience without their help," Burl said.

"I bet," Dick said dryly.

His sons would really be happy to hear that – not. As competitive as they were, they'd end up having a race to produce the first grandson. He grinned when he realized what Burl actually meant.

Dick said, "Yes, I bet they'd love to hear that."

"I better get the burgers off the grill before they burn," Burl said.

"You're good man, Burl," Dick said while holding up the plate.

It didn't take Burl a minute to pile the burgers on the plate. He figured between the sausages, burgers, and wings that there was enough meat to satisfy the crowd. If not, he could come back out and cook another couple links of sausage.

"Let's get them in the house before they get cold," Burl said.

On entering the house, he was immediately faced with eight people crowded together in his kitchen. It was never meant to handle that many people. He knew that he took up the space of two people. He felt like a bear in a China shop. There was only one way to make a little more room.

Holding up the plate of burgers, he called across the kitchen, "Hey Kat! Could you fix a plate for Maggie? I'll take it over there."

"Sure," Kat said from the other side of the kitchen.

She put together a plate with a burger, a couple of slices of sausage, a couple wings, cole slaw, potato salad, and green bean salad. It was far more than Maggie would eat, but she figured that Maggie would appreciate being able to pick and choose.

She passed the plate over to Dick's wife who then passed it to Burl with a smile. He slipped out the back door and headed over to George's house.

"He's always thinking of everyone else," Dick said after the door shut behind Burl.

"He's a nice guy," Kat said.

Dick asked, "Why aren't you trying to lasso him?"

"Burl? He's a nice guy and all that, but he's like a brother to me. It would feel real icky to date him," Kat said.

This wasn't the first time someone had asked her about Burl. She liked him, but not that way. Like everyone else, she thought it would be great if he found a girlfriend. She knew how other women viewed him and felt it would be a long time before he found a woman who would look past his appearance.

Dick said, "I bet he's heard that his whole life."

"He's that kind of guy. Real nice, but not ... you know. He's not like Jimmy was," Kat said.

"I know," Dick said. "It's a shame. He'd make some woman very happy."

"I"m sure he would, but the woman won't be me," Kat said apologetically.

Thirty minutes later, George was returning to the party. It seemed to him that it was getting colder than before. It was turning into a really ugly day. He found Burl standing out in the backyard warming his hands over the kettle grill. There wasn't any meat on the grill.

Curious, George asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Its kind of crowded inside. I thought I'd get some fresh air and let people move around a bit," Burl said.

George snorted. "Oh man. Get inside and mingle. If anyone doesn't like the crowd, they can go home."

"They're my guests," Burl said.

"So go in and be a host," George said.



-------

Chapter 5


Burl stood next to the fountain watching the young woman play her guitar. So far no one had complained about her, but it was just a matter of time. There was always somebody who would find something wrong with anything. Jesus could walk through the mall and there would be some folks who would say he looked too old and others would complain that he looked too young. They would all complain that he was too scruffy – beard and robe and all that. In this case, someone would find a song objectionable and raise a stink.

She finished her song and passed a hat around the crowd that had gathered to listen to her. Burl waited for the hat to return to the young woman before stepping up to her. She spotted him and turned away as if she didn't notice him.

"Have you got permission to be busking?" Burl asked.

"I'm just trying to get a little money for food," the woman complained.

Burl held up his hands and said, "Whoa there! I just asked a question. Have you got permission to be busking?"

"No," the woman said.

"Let's go over to the office and get you permission," Burl said.

"You're going to bust me," the woman said.

"No I won't. You'll be back out here playing your guitar and singing your heart out in ten minutes. If we get you permission, you won't have to leave when someone complains," Burl said.

"What if I don't get permission?" the young woman asked.

She had been chased out of a lot of places in her short career as a busker. She considered herself to be a wandering minstrel. It was a lost art in a world of ipods and shock videos. A lot of folks believed that wandering minstrels, buskers, and sidewalk artists were actually thieves. That usually left them getting chased off by law enforcement types.

"Are you kidding? With the way you play, they'll be inviting you back," Burl said.

"How do you know?" the young woman asked.

"I listened to your last set. That was real nice. Not many people sing those old ballads anymore," Burl said. "It's a nice change from that rap stuff."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Hey Burl!" Denise said while rolling past on her wheelchair.

"I see you're keeping busy today, Denise," Burl said.

"Always," Denise said. She coasted for a second to wave at him.

The young woman asked, "Who was that?"

"That's Denise. She's got a business delivering food and coffee to the people who work in the stores," Burl answered.

After clearing out the money in her guitar case, she carefully packed her guitar. It was easy to see that she treated the guitar like a real treasure. Once the guitar was safe, she emptied the money out of her hat. It was a pretty good haul for a mall for the short time she had been there. At least she would be able to get something to eat.

"Okay. Take me to your leader," she said resigned that her gig in the mall was at an end.

Burl headed towards the office without checking to see if she followed. She walked beside him deciding to let this little drama play itself out.

"I suppose I ought to introduce myself. I'm Burl."

"Was your mother a Burl Ives fan?" she asked.

"Yes," Burl answered. "I wish she had named me after Clint Eastwood. I'd be a whole lot handsomer."

The young woman laughed taken by surprise by his self-depreciating sense of humor. If she was going to get thrown out of a mall, it was best if it was done by a nice guy.

"What's your name?" Burl asked.

"Laura Lane."

"It's nice to meet you, Laura," Burl said.

"Come on and make a superman joke," Laura said.

"I'm not that witty," Burl said.

Laura said, "Everyone makes a superman joke."

"Not me. I don't make fun of people," Burl said. "It's a tough enough world without someone making it worse. I do my best to make it a better world."

"Its a shame that more people don't feel that way," Laura said.

Burl said, "I agree. We're here."

He held open the office door. Laura sighed and entered the office.

"Mrs. Paramo," Burl said. Shelly, the other woman who worked in the mall, swapped weekends with Mrs. Paramo.

"What can I do for you, Burl?" the elderly woman asked.

"This is Laura Lane. She needs permission to play her guitar in the mall," Burl said.

"Another busker?" Mrs. Paramo asked.

"Yes," Burl said. "She sings ballads and folk music."

"I prefer to think of myself as a wandering minstrel," Laura said.

"I don't see any problems so long as you stay away from religious music and bad language," Mrs. Paramo said.

She rummaged around through a desk drawer. She pulled out a stack of pink papers. After dating it, she said, "Here you go. Just put this by your guitar case so people know that you're allowed to play here."

Shocked, Laura picked up the form. "What is this?"

"That's a performance permit." Mrs. Paramo said, "We have lots of entertainers coming into the mall for various reasons. There's a gym that has a group in for a morning exercise session every once in a while. Some of the stores have attractions to bring in customers. We just like to keep track of who is here."

"That's nice," Laura said.

"I'll take her back to the fountain," Burl said.

"The garden bench next to the food court has better acoustics and higher traffic," Mrs. Paramo said.

"That's true. I guess she can set up there," Burl said.

"Thank you," Laura said surprised by the suggestion on how to improve her take.

Burl opened the door and let Laura out. Mrs. Paramo said, "Hey Burl. She's good looking. I bet she'd go to dinner with you."

"Yes, Ma'am. I'll keep that in mind," Burl said.

He led Laura to the food court and pointed out the area Mrs. Paramo had recommended. Laura looked around thinking it would give her wide visibility. Almost all of the traffic to and from the food court would pass by there. Now that she wasn't worried about getting chased out of the mall, she was more than willing to attract as much attention as possible.

"Thanks, Burl. You're a nice guy," Laura said.

"I'll come around and make sure you aren't having any problems," Burl said.

"Like what?" Laura asked.

Burl said, "Someone trying to lift some money out of your case."

"That happens," Laura said.

She once had a guy grab sixty dollars out of her guitar case. There had been three twenty dollar bills in it. It was nearly a third of her take for the day. She had been left in the position where she could chase him and leave the rest of her money behind or let him go while protecting her earnings. It was frustrating.

Burl said, "You know. I've always liked the song Red River Valley."

Laura picked up her guitar and double checked its tune. She sang,

"From this valley they say you are going.

We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,

For they say you are taking the sunshine

That has brightened our pathway a while.

Burt dropped a ten in the open guitar case and headed away to finish his rounds. It was nice when things worked out to the benefit of everyone involved.

He hadn't taken more than ten steps away when Denise rolled up. She slowed to keep pace with him.

Denise said, "She's a cutie."

"She's a good musician," Burl said.

"She's cute," Denise said.

"And she's cute," Burl admitted.

"Ask her out for dinner," Denise said.

Burl said, "Nah. She's probably got a guy wanting for her somewhere."

"If you don't, I will," Denise said.

"Go ahead. I'm sure she'll enjoy having dinner with you," Burl said.

"You know what I mean," Denise said. She rolled ahead of him with a couple of thrusts of her hands on the wheels of her chair.

Burl called out, "Bye!"

"Stupid man can't ask out a girl," Denise mumbled.

Fortunately, Burl did not hear the comment. He was headed into the Halloween Costume Store to talk to the store owner. Max Whitwell was a real piece of work. He rented the space from August through December. For a month the store sold back to school supplies. From the middle of September through the end of October the store sold Halloween items including costumes, decor, and candy. From the beginning of November to the end of December he sold christmas decor. He completely redecorated the store with each change in stock and changed the name of the store.

"Hello, Max. It looks like business is good," Burl said while glancing around the store.

"It could be better. I'm worried about Christmas," Max said.

"Everyone in the mall is concerned about that," Burl said.

He figured if anyone had a feeling for how the holiday sales were going, it would be Max. The man usually pushed twice the sales through his store of any other store in the mall. He saved nearly two thirds of the annual rent for a store. He hired a rather large crew, but it was necessary for the volume of traffic the store generated.

"Back to school sales were acceptable and a little above last year, but not as good as two years ago. It worries me a bit since I don't think fewer kids are heading back to school this year. Halloween is just holding its own and we'll probably reach last year's level. I hope people are saving up to spend a bit on Christmas. I can't take a year worse than last year," Max said.

"You did well last year compared to everyone else," Burl said.

Max replied, "I make all of my money in four months. I carry almost no inventory which means I get hit with taxes. I buy next year's goods with the money from this year, but I do that after the first of the year and that makes the tax situation even worse. On top of all that, I have to make a house payment on a house where my mortgage is under water."

"I didn't think about that," Burl said.

He wasn't sure how all of that added up to being in a tough financial position, particularly that part about his mortgage being underwater. As far as he was concerned, a person didn't buy a house as an immediate investment. He believed people bought a house to be a home. Maybe it might go down in value for a while, but after twenty-five years the value had to be above what it was purchased for. He didn't voice his opinion.

"I think everyone has a house that is under water," Burl said.

"I'm just hoping that Christmas is good this year," Max said.

Burl nodded his head and returned to his route through the mall. He would pause and watch situations that looked like they might escalate into something unpleasant. None of them did.

Laura took a short break from singing. She was surprised when Denise rolled up and handed her a cup of coffee without having asked for one.

"I think you owe Burl dinner," Denise declared.

"Excuse me," Laura said.

Denise replied, "I think you owe Burl dinner."

"Why?"

"If someone had complained about you before he had taken you to the office, then you would have had to leave the mall. He didn't have to take you up there to get permission to play," Denise said.

"It was nice of him," Laura said.

"So take him to dinner," Denise said.

"Did he put you up to this?" Laura asked suspiciously.

She wondered if she had misjudged Burl. He seemed like a nice guy. Trying to cage a dinner out of her didn't seem consistent with her initial opinion of him. She also couldn't believe that he would put the young woman up to this.

"Are you kidding? Burl? No way," Denise said with a laugh. "He would never do that."

"I didn't think so," Laura said.

"So are you going to ask him to dinner?" Denise asked.

"I can't really afford it," Laura said.

The take for the day was a lot better than she had hoped. It meant that she could stay in a low-end motel rather than sleep in the back of her car. She didn't want to sleep in her car that night.

"Do you really think Burl would let you pay?" Denise asked. She faltered and then added, "I guess that was a stupid question. You don't really know Burl. He'd never let you pay. He's kind of old fashioned that way."

"I don't know. I really don't have much money," Laura said looking toward the guitar case.

"Think about it," Denise said. "Speaking of earning money, I better get back to work. My boss is an asshole."

"Who's your boss?" Laura asked.

"Me," Denise said with a wink. She rolled off as quickly as she had come.

Laura laughed at the obvious joke. After finishing her coffee, she picked up the guitar and went back to work. She understood all about working for oneself. The boss tended to be very unforgiving. She went through her set putting her all into it.

"That was real nice," an elderly woman said to her when she finished.

"Thank you," Laura said gesturing toward the guitar case.

"So are you taking Burl out to dinner?" the woman asked.

"What?" Laura asked.

The woman said, "I'm afraid you'll have to do the asking. He'd never impose on you like that. He would feel like he was taking advantage of you."

"I can't really afford it," Laura said.

The woman dropped a fifty in the guitar case and said, "Now you can."

"Thank you," Laura said staring at the fifty dollar bill.

"Just be nice to him," the elderly woman said. "He's a sensitive man. A night out with an attractive young woman would do him a world of good."

"I'll keep that in mind," Laura said.

Throughout the afternoon, folks from all over the mall stopped by to talk to Laura. Some came with suggestions about where she could take him. Others voiced concerns that she might not treat him nicely. It was rather intimidating.

Burl stopped by in the middle of the afternoon. He asked, "How's it going, Laura?"

"Its going well," Laura said not making a comment about all of her special visitors.

"That's good. It is a little slow now, but the traffic should pick up in a little bit," Burl said scanning the crowd.

"I'm sure it will," Laura said.

"I don't know how long you plan on staying here, but towards the evening you might want to head over to the movie theater. I'm sure that folks will appreciate having something interesting to do while waiting for the next movie," Burl said.

The suggestion was a very good one. She looked over at the guitar case and saw the fifty dollar bill sitting there. She noticed Denise seated on her wheelchair watching them. A glance over at the food court gave her the impression that nearly everyone over there was watching her.

"I was thinking that I would take you out to dinner," Laura said.

"No need to do that," Burl said holding his hands up in protest.

His protest was not the reaction she had expected. For a split second she was speechless.

"It would be my pleasure," Laura said.

"Okay, but let me pay," Burl said.

"That's all right. I can afford it," Laura said.

Burl said, "You do this for a living, don't you?"

"Yes," Laura answered.

"I bet you have some good days and some bad days," Burl said.

"Sometimes it feels like I have more bad days than good days," Laura said.

"My income is a little more stable than yours. Let me pay," Burl said. "You can probably use the money to hold you over during lean times."

"Thanks," Laura said.

Everything everyone had told her about Burl was proving to be true. He wasn't going to let her pay for the meal out of consideration for her circumstances. He wasn't the type she would normally look at twice. Of course, after traveling around the country she knew that people came in all shapes and sizes with just as wide a variation in temperament.

"Do you like seafood?" Burl asked.

"I love seafood," Laura answered.

"I get off at five. We can go whenever you are ready to give up here," Burl said.

"Five would be fine," Laura replied.

Burl nodded his head. He said, "You know that might be a very good time for you to take a break. After dinner you could probably come back here and hit the movie crowd."



-------

Chapter 6


Indian summer had arrived and it looked like the weather was going to be glorious. The nights were chilly, but the days were nice. The really cold weather would be coming in a couple of weeks. Until then, people were taking advantage of the warm temperatures. Leaves needed to be raked, storm windows had to be put in place, and other little errands in preparation of winter had to be performed.

Laura looked over the roof of her station wagon at the old house. Burl had been a perfect gentleman. She appreciated the long hot shower, the comfortable bed, and filling breakfast. She sighed thinking that it had been one of the nicest nights she'd had in a long time.

The conversation over dinner and at the house afterwards had been fascinating. A lot of the songs she sang dated back to civil war times. Their discussion about the background of the songs had lasted until late in the night. She knew some of the specific details concerning the origins of the songs, but he was able to provide the cultural and historical background that made her knowledge even more interesting.

"Who are you?"

Surprised by the chilly tone of voice in which the question was asked, Laura spun around to find she was face to face with a very attractive woman. She wondered if this was a girlfriend of Burl. Based in the comments of the people at the mall, the last thing she expected was a confrontation with another woman.

"I'm Laura."

"What are you doing here, Laura?"

"I'm getting ready to go to work," Laura answered noticing the chill had not left the woman's voice.

"I hope you were nice to him."

"Who are you?" Laura asked.

"I'm his neighbor, Kat."

"Well, retract your claws Kat. We had a very pleasant evening," Laura said adding a little frost to her voice. "Not that it is any of your business."

"Burl is a nice guy. We worry about him," Kat said.

She wasn't ready to accept for a minute that a young attractive woman like Laura would have anything to do with Burl without having an ulterior motive. She hoped that Burl had taken steps to protect his valuables.

"He is a nice guy," Laura said.

"Will you be back?" Kat asked.

"He invited me to stay tonight," Laura answered.

Kat said, "Don't lead him on. Don't hurt him."

Laura was surprised by how many people were watching over Burl. It seemed to her like everyone she met gave her the same warning to treat him nicely. In addition to the people at the mall, the waitress at the seafood restaurant had taken advantage of her trip to the ladies' room to give her a warning to be nice to Burl. It seemed like everyone knew Burl.

"I won't," Laura said. "Now if you don't mind, I've got to get to work."

"Fine," Kat said.

Laura stopped by the office at the mall to pick up a permit to busk. Before searching for the forms, Mrs. Paramo asked about dinner. She visibly relaxed upon hearing that it had been a nice evening. The form magically appeared along with some advice about where to set up for the day. Laura was pretty sure that a negative report concerning the dinner date would have resulted in not getting a permit to work in the mall.

She was still setting up when Denise rolled over to talk. Denise asked, "How did it go with Burl last night?"

"It went well. I had a very nice evening with him," Laura answered.

"You know, if I wasn't seventeen and crippled, I would be all over him," Denise said.

"Really?" Laura asked surprised by the comment, but believing she meant it.

If one was able to overlook the absence of legs above the knees, Denise was a cute girl. She also had a friendly outgoing personality. The age difference, although significant now, wouldn't be a big deal in a couple of years. Denise was just waiting for the day when she could make her move on him.

"He helped me when I came here hoping to get a minimum wage job. Because of Burl talking to folks, I run my own business and make a lot more than minimum wage. I'm going to college after I get out of high school. I know that I'll be able to do this no matter where I go to school. Its not many people who can set you up with a job that you like and can take with you no matter where you go," Denise said.

"That's true," Laura said.

"Burl suggested it and then he helped make it happen. I can't thank him enough," Denise said.

She had been one miserable teenager before getting this job. At a time when other girls her age were out dating, boys were not interested in a girl with no legs. When others were getting jobs, she was stuck in physical therapy learning how to deal with the simplest of everyday tasks. Her mother had tried to keep her from looking for a job afraid that the rejections she was sure Denise would get would further crush the young woman's spirit.

She had been sitting near this very spot feeling depressed from store owner after store owner telling her that they couldn't use her when Burl entered her life. He took one look at her and suggested the delivery business. Thirty minutes later, she was in business. He had gotten permission from mall management and printed up a brochure with the help of the folks at the office supply store. He had then introduced her to everyone in the mall.

Denise said, "One day Mrs. Temple got really sick when she was running the store alone. Burl took the day off and watched the store for her while she went home. The mall would have fined her if she had closed up the store for the day. He used a day of his vacation to help her out."

"That's remarkable," Laura said.

"That's Burl."

Holding her hand about five feet from the ground, Laura asked, "Mrs. Temple wouldn't happen to be an elderly woman about so tall?"

"That's her," Denise said.

"She gave me fifty dollars to take Burl to dinner," Laura said.

Denise said, "That doesn't surprise me."

"Wow."

Denise said, "I better get to work. My boss is an asshole."

"So is mine," Laura said with a grin.

Throughout the day, people who worked in the mall stopped by to see how Burl's date had gone. Unused to that kind of attention, it was getting embarrassing. There was this unspoken question about whether or not Burl had gotten laid. She pitied the poor girl who started dating Burl with serious intent.

Mrs. Temple sat down on the bench beside Laura waiting for the young woman to finish her song and pass the hat. Laura gave her pitch to get people to donate a little money for the pleasure of getting a little pleasure from a live performance.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Mrs. Temple," Laura asked.

"I wanted to hear how your dinner went," Mrs. Temple said.

Laura dug in her pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. She held it out for Mrs. Temple. "I didn't need this. Burl paid."

"I thought he would," Mrs. Temple said. "Keep the money."

"You gave it to me to pay for dinner," Laura said.

Mrs. Temple said, "I know Burl. I knew he wouldn't let you pay. He's old fashioned."

"I'm planning on leaving tomorrow," Laura said.

"Really? Why?"

"I've got to head to where it is warmer. I usually sleep in my car. I would freeze to death living up here," Laura said.

"I guess that makes sense," Mrs. Paramo said. She sighed. "I really hoped you might be the one for him."

"I'm a wandering minstrel. That makes having a relationship with a man a little difficult," Laura said.

"You aren't a very good one," Mrs. Paramo said.

"How can you say that?" Laura asked shocked by the observation.

"Wandering minstrels were part musicians, part storyteller, and part news reporter. I've heard you play music, but I haven't heard you tell a single story or say a word about how things are where you were last. You are supposed to share news about how things are elsewhere," Mrs. Paramo said. "You're a traveling musician, not a minstrel."

"You're right," Laura said finding that she couldn't argue the point.

Mrs. Paramo said, "I better get back to the store before Denise has to ring up a customer. She can't reach the cash register."

"That would be a problem," Laura said.

"Of course, I have that problem too. At least I can stand on a box," Mrs. Paramo said.

Laura laughed until she realized that the elderly woman was serious. "Sorry."

"No problem," the diminutive woman said. "We all have little setbacks in life. You can't avoid them. I figure they're there so that we can get tough enough to deal with the big stuff."

Laura watched her return to the store thinking that Burl had a lot of people who took a serious interest in his life. She also gave thought to the comment that she wasn't a very good wandering minstrel. She wondered what kinds of stories she could tell between songs. In the modern age of twenty-four hour news coverage and polished Hollywood entertainment she wondered what she could do.

While playing her next set, she put the issue on the back burner. She made her money singing and for now that is what she would do. She knew she would have plenty of time to think while driving towards California and warmer weather. The one thing she knew for a fact – she had stories about three rather remarkable people.

This was a conversation that would have a long lasting impact on her life. Without realizing it, she would come to a decision that led to a wide and loyal following. The stories she told about good people doing their best in adverse situations became famous. She formed the seed for a movement in which wandering minstrels once again became commonplace.

For the moment she sang songs of times past to a transient crowd. The money slowly flowed into her guitar case. It wasn't a great day, but every little bit helped.

Laura packed up her guitar at five. She smiled upon seeing Burl heading her way. He was not aware of the heads sticking out the doors of stores watching him. She suspected the heads would disappear when they walked past on their way out of the mall.

"Hey Burl," she said.

"Hello, Laura. How was it today?" Burl asked.

Laura answered, "It was pretty good."

"Great," Burl said. "Are you ready to get some dinner?"

"Sure," she answered.

"How about Italian?" Burl asked.

"That would be lovely," Laura said.

Surprising Burl, she took his hand while walking towards the mall exit. It was hard to keep from grinning at the idea of the rumors that would fly when they left. She had no doubt that Denise would be riding around talking to everyone.

The Italian place wasn't particularly a romantic setting. Set in a strip mall, the open front made intimacy a little difficult to achieve. The owners, Lawrence and Jamie, weren't exactly the kind of people who one expected to run an Italian place. Lawrence was obviously of Greek heritage while Jamie was of Irish descent. The couple knew Burl and came out to greet him when they stepped into the place. By this time, Laura wasn't surprised at their reaction to Burl's arrival.

Once they were seated, Burl asked, "What are your plans?"

"I was hoping to leave for California tomorrow. I want to get out before the cold weather hits," Laura answered.

"You might wait a day. I was talking to George earlier and he volunteered to check out your car. I'd feel a lot better if I knew your car was in good shape. It is kind of dangerous for a woman to travel alone in an old car. He'll only charge you parts if there is something really wrong with it," Burl said.

"I don't think I can afford it," Laura said with a frown.

"Don't worry about," Burl said dismissively. "He'll call you before doing anything that costs money."

"Just make sure that he does," Laura said.

"I'll talk to him," Burl said. Changing the subject, he said, "Everything on the menu is good. I'm going with the lasagne."

"That sounds good," Laura said.

Burl leaned over and whispered, "Jamie makes the best lasagne in the state. Larry claims that is the only reason he married her. By the way, never call him Larry in here ... he wants to be called Lawrence."

"I'll keep that in mind," Laura said.

Burl closed his menu and set it aside. When Laura did the same, Lawrence made his way over to the table carrying a basket with hot bread and a small plate. He set out the plate which he then filled with olive oil. He grabbed the pepper grinder and added fresh ground pepper to the olive oil.

Lawrence said, "A simple little starter before the meal."

"I love this," Laura said.

Smiling, Lawrence asked, "Lovely lady, what will you have?"

"Burl recommends the lasagne," Laura answered.

"Very good choice," Lawrence said. "The usual for you Burl?"

"Yes, Lawrence," Burl said.

"Two lasagnes coming up," Lawrence said.

He backed away from the table and headed towards the kitchen. On the way, he sent one of the waiters over to their table with glasses of water.

Laura said, "How long have you known the owners?"

"A couple of years. I used to come in here occasionally because Jamie makes the best lasagne in the state. They were having some problems establishing a clientele so I volunteered to put some flyers around the mall," Burl said.

"It looks like it worked," Laura said. It was a pretty good crowd for a Sunday night.

"George probably helped more than me. The garage where he works is right down the street," Burl said.

Laura studied Burl for a few seconds. Finally, she asked, "How many places did you drop off flyers?"

"I have no idea. I just stopped at every place between here and the mall," Burl answered.

"That was very nice of you," Laura said. Somehow she wasn't surprised to learn that. It seemed to her that when Burl helped someone, he went all out.

"Not really," Burl said.

"Would you excuse me for a minute? I'm going to wash my hands. I've been playing the guitar all day," Laura said.

"Okay," Burl said. He tore off a little bread and dunked it in the olive oil.

Laura walked past the kitchen on her way to the restroom. She could hear Lawrence and Jamie talking about how they needed to do something special for Burl and his date. It was touching to hear the way they talked about Burl.

She returned to the table after her visit to the ladies' room. She had just settled in when Lawrence appeared with a dish of mussels. He placed the dish between the two of them with a flourish.

Burl looked at it and asked, "What's this?"

"Zuppa Di Cozze," Lawrence answered.

"In English."

"Italian mussels."

"They smell good," Burl said.

A waiter showed up with a bottle of wine. Lawrence took it from him and poured two glasses. Setting the bottle on the table, he said, "You must have a little wine with your meal."

"Wow, thanks," Burl said.

Lawrence lit a candle and then left the table. A moment later the lights in the restaurant were lowered.

Burl said, "Someone must be celebrating an anniversary or something. They don't usually try to set a romantic mood like this."

Laura stared at Burl.



-------

Chapter 7


Halloween showed up at Burl's house big time. The whole front yard was decorated like a cemetery with tombstones sporting humorous little sayings. Fog flowed over the ground and spooky noises originated from speakers that had been carefully placed out of sight.

Burl, dressed up like a farmer in overalls with a straw hat, was seated in a lawn chair in front of the house. He had a big plastic pumpkin filled with candy bars and a pot of hot cider on a television stand next to his chair. It didn't take much imagination to know that his house was a favorite stop for kids and their parents. The kids loved the candy and the parents enjoyed the hot cider.

His first visitors were George, Junior, and Maggie. Maggie was pushing a stroller. Being too young to wear a real costume, Junior was wearing a superman bib. It was kind of cute.

"Hey Burl," George said.

"Hello, Maggie, George, and Junior," Burl said.

George looked at all of the Halloween decor. He asked, "Have you got enough stuff here?"

"Maybe," Burl said.

"How did you get all of this stuff? You didn't have it last year," George said.

"Last year I bought the last of the stock from Maxwell at the mall. I got Halloween and Christmas stuff at about ten cents on the dollar," Burl answered.

He had purchased a hundred dollar fog machine for ten dollars. All of the headstones had come to five dollars. The plastic pumpkin had come to a dollar. The skeleton in the corner that made spooky sounds had been two dollars. He had gotten even more stuff for Christmas.

"That's a good deal," Maggie said.

"If you tell me what you want, I'll see if I can get it for you. It'll have to be after Christmas though," Burl said.

"That would be great," Maggie said.

"I'll let you know what he's got left," Burl said.

Knowing the answer to his question, George pointed over at the pot and asked, "What's that?"

Burl answered, "Hot apple cider. Have some."

"Will do," George said.

"Who's handing out candy at your place?" Burl asked.

Some of the older kids were liable to throw eggs at houses that didn't hand out candy. It hadn't been that long ago when George or him could have been the ones throwing eggs. They had never done it, but a lot of other kids they knew had.

"Me," George said. "I can get back there before anyone gets to the house."

"The older kids won't be along until later," Burl said.

"I know," George said. He held out a cup of hot cider for Maggie.

Maggie rocked Junior by pushing the stroller back and forth a little. She took the cup of cider from George and took a sip.

"This is good," Maggie said.

Burl said, "It's my Mom's recipe."

"You'll have to give it to me," Maggie said.

Burl pulled a piece of paper out of the top pocket of his overalls. While handing it over to her, he said, "Last year I had so many requests for it that I printed up a couple copies of the recipe."

"Thanks," Maggie said while slipping it into the diaper bag hanging from the stroller.

"You're welcome," Burl said.

Maggie said, "I better get next door. I'm sure that Herbie is ready to head out trick or treating."

"The kid has a great costume – Captain America," Burl said.

"How did Kat afford that?" Maggie asked.

Burl said, "I stopped by the Halloween store and picked it up for him. Maxwell was discounting everything by then."

"That was nice of you," Maggie said.

"It was just a couple of bucks," Burl said dismissively.

George shook his head thinking that it was likely to have been more than a couple of bucks. Burl had spent a hundred dollars helping Laura get a brake job and a new spare tire. He doubted Laura even knew about it since all she had been charged for were the parts for a long overdue oil change. He hoped that Burl had gotten laid out of the deal, but he doubted it.

"See ya' later," Maggie said heading over to Kat's house. She was going to hand out candy while Kat took Herbie trick or treating.

"I'll be right here in case you have a problem," Burl called after her.

"You're always around when someone has a problem," George said.

"If you can help, you help," Burl said summing up his lifestyle in one sentence.

"Have you heard from Laura?" George asked.

"I got a letter from her. She made it to California. She says that there are a lot of buskers there, but she's added storytelling to her repertoire and manages to collect a pretty good crowd," Burl said.

He had been very surprised to get a letter from her. It had been a long letter. She wrote about her trip across the country and the stops she had made along the way. She described some of the people she met. It seemed to him that she had run into quite a few characters. There had been one teenage fellow who tried to build a house out of plastic bottles as a school project. Thinking that he would be clever, he had filled them with water to give them a little weight and strength. Everything was great until the first freeze when all of the bottles burst. An entire wall of the house had come down. He was rebuilding it using sand to fill the bottles.

"That's nice," George said.

"She's going to do okay," Burl said.

"I'm sure she will," George said.

The door next door opened and Captain America came charging out holding an empty pillowcase. He ran directly for Burl shouting, "Uncle Burl, I'm Captain America."

"You sure are," Burl said laughing at Herbie's enthusiasm.

"Mommy kept telling me that I was going to have to go as a ghost because she couldn't afford a costume, but this morning she had this one for me. Isn't that great?" Herbie said excitedly.

The ghost costume would have come from an old sheet with a couple of holes cut in it for eyes. He had nearly died on seeing the simple Captain America costume.

"That is great," Burl said. "Now aren't you supposed to say something when you go door to door?"

"Oh yeah. Trick or treat!" Herbie shouted.

"I've got some treats over in that plastic pumpkin for you," Burl said.

Herbie ran over to the plastic pumpkin and looked inside. He could hardly believe his eyes – there were a half dozen varieties of chocolate bars. Now he was faced with the problem of choosing which kind to take.

Turning to Kat, Burl added, "I've got some hot apple cider if you're interested."

"Thanks, Burl. Thanks for everything," Kat said watching Herbie pick through the candy in the pumpkin.

"My pleasure," Burl said.

George looked down the street and said, "The kids are starting to come out. I better get back to the house."

"Good move," Burl said.

Kat said, "I'll be over there in a few minutes."

George returned to the house pushing the stroller. He was going to watch Junior while Maggie handed out candy at Kat's house. Maggie had come down with a bad case of cabin fever and wanted a little time out of the house. George was only too happy to spend a little time at home with Junior.

For the next hour, young mothers with their even younger children stopped by the house. The kids went ape over the candy while the mothers appreciated the apple cider. A good percentage of the mothers were single, but none eyed Burl with any real interest. Everyone knew Burl. Everyone liked Burl, just not in that way.

Next door, Maggie handed out candy listening to the women discuss Burl. The core of their comments were positive. After all, they were talking about Burl who would help anyone when there was a need. Despite that, all of the women couldn't keep from making negative comments about his appearance.

There were a few single women who complained about how hard it was to find a nice guy. Maggie was tempted to point out that Burl was a nice guy, but she knew how they would react. It was always the same – he's like a brother and dating him would be icky.

Of all of the women in the neighborhood, Maggie knew Burl better than anyone other than Kat. She felt that if anything happened to George that Burl would be the first guy she would turn to for comfort. Her opinion of her own gender was getting lower with every negative comment the women made about Burl's appearance.

It was starting to get dark and the older kids started making their appearance. Rather than mothers or fathers escorting their one or two young children, there would be one adult watching a herd of kids. It was always the same.

Maggie was handing out candy to a pack of kids when Kat returned with Herbie. The pillowcase wasn't exactly billowing with candy, but it was enough to excite Herbie. He could hardly wait to get inside to survey his take for the night. Maggie opened the door and let him into the house while warning him not to eat anything until she had a chance to check the candy.

The crowd of kids ran to the next house followed by a harried mother. Their departure left Maggie and Kat standing on the porch. Kat glanced in the bowl with candy to see how much was left. She hoped that it would last through the night. If not, she was pretty sure that Burl had extra and would help her out.

Kat asked, "How did it go?"

Maggie said, "I was listening to all of those single mothers talking about Burl. I kept thinking they were the stupidest bitches in the world."

"Why?" Kat asked.

"They kept talking about what a nice guy he is, but that it is a shame he's so big. Stupid cows don't realize just how great of a catch Burl is," Maggie said.

"He would be a great catch," Kat said feeling a little self-conscious.

"They just can't past his appearance. The stupid bitches can't put character above appearance," Maggie said. Seeing the sour expression on Kat's face, she quickly added, "I don't mean you."

"I really miss Jimmy. He spoiled me for all other men," Kat said softly.

"He was a hunk," Maggie said.

Jimmy looked like a soldier was supposed to look. He had a great physical build, square jaw, and piercing eyes. When he wore his uniform women swooned. He had command presence. When he walked into the room everyone knew it. In short, physically he was everything Burl wasn't.

"Yes, he was," Kat said with a sigh.

Maggie said, "He was a nice guy, too. Even men liked him."

"I know," Kat said. "He was a lot like Burl in that respect."

"Yes, he was," Maggie said.

The two women stood there remembering Jimmy. Maggie didn't know how Kat would ever find a man who could live up to the standard Jimmy had set. Kat sighed thinking that she would spend the rest of her life alone. It wasn't fair.

"I guess I better head home," Maggie said. "George is probably getting worried about me."

"Happy Halloween," Kat said.

"Same to you," Maggie said.

Maggie walked past Burl on her way to the house and then went back to visit for a few minutes with him. They exchanged a few words about how few trick or treaters there were that year. It seemed to Burl that there were fewer and fewer of them every year. At most, mothers only took their kids around the block. A few of them only visited houses where they knew the owners.

Every year it seemed like there was one story on the news where some sick bastard put a razor blade in an apple or injected a piece of candy with drugs. Burl couldn't imagine anyone actually doing that and wondered if it wasn't more of an urban myth than fact. Yet every year, there were all kinds of warnings about checking the children's candy on the news. Of course, with three hundred and fifty million people in the country there were bound to be a few nutcases out there.

The light started to fade and the traffic of young kids dropped off significantly. Burl sat on his chair handing out candy to older and older kids. By the time eight o'clock rolled around, the kids were in their late teens. These were the ones who would play tricks on the houses where treats weren't to be found. Burl handed out candy and found that quite a few of them were more interested in the hot apple cider than the chocolate bars.

It was finally past curfew and Burl started packing up the halloween decorations. He wasn't going to leave the fog machine out overnight. Although there were a lot of things, it didn't take long to remove everything. He dumped everything in the living room planning to take it down to the basement in the morning.

After taking a short look around the outside to make sure he had picked up everything, he went into the house. He was a little disappointed by the number of kids that had stopped by that night. He had four bags of chocolate left. He estimated that maybe eighty kids had come by that evening. He remembered when it was well over a hundred.

He went over to his chair and took a seat. Thinking he would pass the time with a movie, he turned on the television and flipped through the hundred and fifty channels. Like usual, he saw nothing interesting. There were a lot of horror films, but he didn't like gruesome movies.

He looked over at the Halloween decorations and decided that he might as well carry them down to the basement now. It took a half an hour to box up the decorations and another fifteen minutes to store them on the shelves in the basement.

It was now nine at night and he was bored. He wasn't looking forward to another night at home alone with nothing to do. He tried to read a biography of Robert E. Lee, but just couldn't get into it. It had been nice having Laura around and he missed the company.

Bored, he looked at the literature he had picked up at the Army recruiting office. There was a URL to look up more information about individual jobs in the Army. He wondered if he was willing to make the Army his career. There wasn't much of a future being a security guard at a local mall.

He sighed. "No one would miss me."

Getting on his computer, he went to the army website and browsed the career categories. The first job that he looked at was as a military policeman. It was too much like his current job except he would get to carry a gun. Upon finding the job listing for becoming a Ranger, he laughed at the idea. There was no way he'd make it as a Ranger.

After spending nearly an hour reading job descriptions, he was still not convinced he had seen anything that attracted his attention. That was his real problem in life. There wasn't a career he was just dying to pursue. He had just kind of settled into being a security guard and was drifting along earning a modest living. What he really wanted was a wife and family; the job was just a way to pay the bills.

Not finding a career didn't affect his thinking about joining the Army. He liked the idea of being with a squad of men and women for most of the time. It would beat sitting around the house every night with no one to talk with and no where to go. He guessed there were a lot of reasons to join: learning a new career, getting some money for college, ending his loneliness, and doing something important. He'd even get paid while doing it. He looked at the pay thinking it was more like they would be pretending to pay him.

"I'd like to be a medic," Burl said. "I'm going to stop by the recruiter's office to learn more tomorrow morning."



-------

Chapter 8


"Hey Burl!"

"Hey Carl," Burl replied to the bank guard.

Carl was in his late fifties trying to hang on until he could retire. He was a fill-in while the regular guard took his lunch hour. Since Burl always stopped by the bank during the lunch hour, he knew Carl better than the regular guard.

"I see that it is payday again," Carl said.

The pay envelope was sticking out of Burl's top pocket. It wasn't the first he'd seen that day and it wouldn't be the last. The bank would have a line for most of the day.

Burl answered, "Yes. A little money to feed me and more money to feed the government."

"Only two things are certain in life – death and taxes," Carl said.

"And it is taxes until you die," Burl said.

"Yep," Carl said.

The topic of conversation was edging in a direction that was a sore point for Carl. Burl asked, "How is your wife?"

"She's not doing so well. The last round of chemotherapy didn't help. The cancer is spreading," Carl said.

"Oh damn! I'm sorry to hear that," Burl said.

"I'm going to be taking a leave of absence to take care of her. I was hoping to make it to retirement age, but I don't think I'll make it. Right now, I'd be happy to make it to the New Year," Carl said.

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Burl said.

With a little moisture in his eyes, Carl said, "Emma and I had hoped to drive around the country a bit after I retired. We wanted to see Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, and the Redwood Forest. It doesn't look like that is going to happen."

Burl shook his head. He couldn't imagine how Carl felt to be losing the fight to save his wife. He did understand the kind of loneliness Carl would be facing if she died.

"If I can do anything to help, let me know," Burl said.

Carl asked, "I don't think anyone can help."

"Hey, I can run errands so that you have more time to spend with your wife. I mean, you'll still need to do shopping and stuff," Burl said.

"That's a real nice offer," Carl said touched by the offer.

"I'm serious. You need anything, just give me a call," Burl said.

Carl said, "I could put in a word for you if you want a job."

"I'm thinking about joining the Army," Burl said.

He hadn't come to a firm decision about going into the army yet. There wasn't a rush and there were a lot of details he had to clear up first. He owned a house and he would have to make arrangements to either sell it or rent it. In the current real estate market, he doubted that he would be able to sell it. He wasn't encumbered with too many debts so he could clear them up. Even if things went his way, it would be after the first of the year before he could join.

"The Army?" Carl asked. "Why would you do that?"

"I figured I could do something for the country. Besides, it wouldn't really matter if I got killed. I mean, I wouldn't be leaving a widow behind," Burl said.

He thought that sounded a lot better than it would end his lonely nights. He didn't think he could face the idea of living alone for the rest of his life. Living in a barracks or on a military base didn't sound that bad to him. Even slugging around in a foreign country with a bunch of friends sounded better than spending nights alone at home.

"So you think you're expendable and other men aren't," Carl asked looking at Burl like he was crazy.

"Well ... I ... maybe," Burl said.

The reason he gave suddenly didn't sound all that better than saying it was better than being alone. On reflection, it sounded pretty bad. He decided that he wouldn't mention that aspect of his thinking again.

Carl said, "Don't do it, Burl."

"I've got to consider it," Burl said.

He was nearly at the point of deciding to go for it. The quiet nights at home since Laura Lane had left were pure torture. He didn't think he could take living alone much longer.

"Suit yourself," Carl said.

Carl wasn't going to badger a man that he shouldn't serve his country. He might disagree with the reasoning behind the move, but he wouldn't argue against it. He had served and it had been one of the best things to happen to him. He had grown up a lot because of it and gained a bit of discipline in the process.

Burl said, "I better get in line or else I won't get lunch today."

"I'd hate for you to miss a meal," Carl said. "Just think twice about joining the Army."

"I'll do that," Burl said.

Ten minutes later Burl was at the food court getting ready to order a taco. He couldn't decide whether to get one or two of them. Juanita came out of the back and studied Burl. She had just heard some rather disturbing news and hoped that it was just a groundless rumor.

She said, "I heard a rumor that you are joining the Army."

"I'm thinking about joining," Burl said.

He wondered how she had heard about it already. After giving it a thought, he realized there had been people who worked in the mall in the bank when he had discussed the matter with Carl. It was kind of scary that he was the subject of discussion like that.

Juanita asked, "Are you crazy? We're at war."

"I'm not crazy," Burl said.

"We don't want you to go," Juanita said flatly.

"Why?" Burl asked.

Surprised by the question Juanita answered, "We're going to miss you. Who is going to make us feel safe?"

"They'll find someone nice to take my job," Burl said.

Hiring a security guard for a mall wasn't hard. An ad in the newspaper and they'd have a hundred people lined up, particularly in the current economy. It was a good paying job compared to working in a burger joint. He was sure they could replace him in a day.

Juanita said, "You know everyone who manages a store. You help us out when we need a hand. There's no way they'll be able to hire someone like you."

"I appreciate the complement, but I'm no one special," Burl said.

"I remember when you helped over at the shoe store when their stock boy was in an accident. How late did you stay there helping them put out stock?" Juanita asked.

"Just a couple hours," Burl answered. "It was no big deal."

What Juanita didn't say was that the stock boy was the manager's son. The manager had run off to the hospital leaving the store short-staffed. The store had received forty large boxes of shoes. Burl had helped them unpack and put the stock out on the shelves.

Juanita asked, "What will you have today?"

"Two tacos and a medium iced tea," Burl answered.

"Okay," Juanita said while turning to prepare his order. She shook her head and mumbled, "He's going to get killed."

Burl was about to bite into a taco when Mrs. Temple stopped by the table looking irritated. He looked up at her and wondered what he had done to make her mad.

"What?" Burl asked somewhat defensively.

"I heard you were joining the Army," Mrs. Temple said.

"I'm thinking about it," Burl said.

Burl wondered how many people were talking about him. Life in a mall was strange. People spent a lot of time working there, but it wasn't exactly a tight knit community. Managers and full-time employees typically spent all of their time in the store. They might talk to the people in the stores immediately adjacent to theirs during quiet times, but they were basically locked to their place of employment. People, like Burl, who knew just about everyone in the mall were rare.

"Why?" Mrs. Temple asked.

"I would like to do something for the country. I figured I would get trained to be a medic or something," Burl said.

"I don't like the idea of you going to Afghanistan. It's dangerous there," Mrs. Temple said.

"I wouldn't necessarily go to Afghanistan, although that wouldn't be so bad," Burl said.

Mrs. Temple said, "You don't know what you are saying. You'd come back a changed man."

"Why?"

"You can't trust the people there," Mrs. Temple said. "The greatest gift you have is your ability to trust people."

"I'll be able to trust the other soldiers," Burl said.

"Yes, you will," Mrs. Temple said. She left feeling like Burl was committing suicide. "Still, it would change you."

"Maybe that's what I need," Burl said feeling a little frustrated.

"Just think twice about it," Mrs. Temple said.

She could see that the discussion was upsetting Burl. She didn't understand why a guy like him would want to join the military. He was a nice guy and had a future. She felt that he would probably be the first guy killed.

"I'll do that," Burl said.

Mrs. Temple said, "You know that Denise will be crushed if you leave."

"Why?" Burl asked.

"I think she fancies you," Mrs. Temple said.

She knew for a fact how Denise felt about Burl. She just wasn't going to tell him how deep the young woman's feelings ran. She was still too young for him.

"You can't be serious."

"I am serious."

"She's a nice kid, but she's a little too young for me," Burl said.

Mrs. Temple said, "Just wait until she turns eighteen. She'll be asking you out on dates."

Burl laughed at the idea.

"Don't laugh. She's got it bad for you," Mrs. Temple said.

She didn't want to be around when Denise heard he was considering joining the Army. She had no idea how the young woman would react. Burl had played a very important role in her recovery from the accident that had taken her legs.

"I'll have to trust your opinion on that," Burl said.

"I've got to get lunch and get back to the store. That stupid cow I hired is worthless," Mrs. Temple said. She went over to the sandwich place to get something to eat.

Burl took a bite of his taco while thinking about his situation. It seemed to him that everyone who talked to him had the same negative reaction to his plans on joining the Army. He didn't understand it. The more he thought about the idea of joining, the more he liked it. He knew the physical part of it would be rough, but he was looking forward to the social side. He wanted to be part of something.

After finishing his lunch, Burl stood at the end of the north hall watching the slow Monday mall traffic. It was a slow day at the mall. Most of the traffic was people headed towards or returning from the bank to deposit their paychecks.

His radio started squawking. "Burl, can you go over to the bank?"

Burl fumbled with his radio wondering why he would be needed at the bank. The bank had its own security. Unlike him, Carl carried a pistol.

"This is Burl. What's up?"

"The security guard at the bank has a family emergency. They'd appreciate it if you went down there until the regular guard returns."

While walking towards the bank, Burl said, "I'm on my way."

"Thanks, Burl."

Burl had a pretty good idea what might be the family emergency – Carl's wife. He hoped that it wasn't something serious although that was unlikely. Carl wouldn't leave the bank unless it was serious. He picked up the pace knowing that Carl would want to get home to her as quickly as possible. The result was that he walked into the bank without looking around.

The first clue Burl had that something wasn't right was observing a man hitting Carl with the butt of a pump shotgun. It was a nasty vicious blow that knocked the elderly man to the floor. When the man started to lower the barrel to aim at Carl on the floor, there was little doubt in Burl's mind that Carl was about to meet his maker.

Burl lost it. Bellowing like a bull, he charged at the man with more energy than he had ever showed in his old days on the football team. Burl was a big guy. The man with the shotgun wasn't. When Burl hit the man with the gun, the pair carried forward until stopped by the table used by bank customers to fill out deposit slips. The table was large and fixed to the floor. They hit the table with a sickening crunch. The shotgun flew across the room.

With the gunman at his feet, Burl stood there and looked around the room trying to make sense out of what was happening. A second man was standing across the room holding a shotgun. It seemed to Burl that things suddenly went into slow motion. He watched the shotgun swivel around so that it was facing him. He could see the man's finger squeezing the trigger. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Carl pulling out his pistol. There was a loud roar of the shotgun going off followed by a loud bang when a pistol was fired. There were screams.

The blast knocked Burl back several feet, but he was left standing for a second. His stomach was on fire. He looked down discovering his white shirt was turning red. He dropped to his knees. In a strangled voice, he said, "I don't feel so good."

Burl fell flat on his face.



-------

Chapter 9


Kat turned off the cd player after the first story on it ended. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The story had reminded her of the day Burl had been shot. She didn't think she would ever forget that day. It seemed to her that the whole world changed that day.

The first she had heard about the shooting had been on the radio while driving home from the diner where she worked as a waitress. The initial story had been about an attempted bank robbery that had been stopped by a mall security guard who was wounded in the process. She hadn't thought much about the news item other than it being another sign of troubled times.

The second time she heard the news story, they mentioned the name of the mall. Suddenly, her thoughts had turned to Burl. A sick feeling had settled in her stomach. She nearly lost control of her car when he was mentioned by name. She was pretty sure that they weren't supposed to release the names of victims before the family had been informed.

After picking Herbie up from school, she had rushed home to see if there was any coverage on the television. Herbie had sat beside her recognizing that his mother was upset about something. For a change, he didn't prattle on about his day at school.

Maggie, carrying Junior, rushed over to the house when Kat pulled into the driveway. Tears were running down her face. She was clearly distraught.

When Kat had gotten out of the car, Maggie had shouted, "Burl's been shot."

"I heard," Kat had said.

"He's in critical condition," Maggie had said.

"Oh my God!" Kat had exclaimed.

It was only then when Kat realized she had been crying. At the time, she didn't understand her reaction to the news. The last time she had felt that same sense of loss was when she had learned Jimmy had died. Burl was just a neighbor. Maggie had agreed to watch Herbie while Kat went to the hospital.

She recalled the chaos at the hospital. The hospital had swelled with personnel to handle the sudden increase in serious injuries. The press was there in full force trying to get interviews with anyone who would talk to them. The police were there in large numbers. A number of people from the mall were there trying to find out what happened.

The attempted robbery had resulted in four people being taken to the hospital. One robber had been shot by Carl and was in critical condition. One robber had broken his back when Burl had shoved him into the table. Carl had ended up with a broken cheek bone from the blow with the butt of the shotgun. Burl had taken a shotgun blast to the stomach.

There had been over twenty people waiting to hear news about Burl with another two dozen coming and going. She hadn't recognized anyone except his parents. They had been sitting there in shock unable to believe their son had been shot. Almost as shocking for them was the number of people who had massed at the hospital.

Needless to say, the family members of the bank robbers did not receive a friendly welcome in the waiting area of the emergency room. No one was outright hostile, but there were a lot of dirty looks in their direction. The hospital staff ended up putting them in a separate area.

The hours passed without word from the doctors. All anyone knew was that Burl was still in surgery. The tension in the waiting room increased while people speculated if the longer time in surgery was a good sign or not. Mostly it was people trying to convince themselves that Burl would be okay.

Kat had found she was seated next to a young woman in a wheelchair. The young woman, Denise, was sobbing uncontrollably. It took some time, but Kat slowly discovered how Burl had helped the young woman by giving her a sense of independence. He had found a very creative means for her to take care of herself. The story brought Kat to the verge of tears.

An elderly woman, quite frail looking, stopped in the waiting room to get news about Burl. She introduced herself as Emma, Carl's wife. She was at the hospital to visit her husband while he was recovering from the blow he had taken during the robbery. They had kept him overnight in case the blow to his head had unforeseen consequences.

Later, the investigation determined that one of the men who participated in the attempted robbery had been casing the bank when Carl and Burl had been discussing her cancer. They had decided to call the bank with news that Emma had been taken to the hospital as a means of getting rid of the guard. The fact that he had waited to leave until a replacement had arrived had taken them by surprise.

Emma's story about her cancer was the equivalent of dropping a nuclear emotional bomb on the folks waiting to learn about Burl. Kat and Denise had burst into tears upon hearing how Burl had saved Carl who was taking care of his frail wife while she was fighting cancer. In a way, it made Burl's actions sound even more heroic. He hadn't only saved a man's life, he had provided an ill woman with the precious gift of a loving supporter.

The time in the waiting room had turned into story time with people telling stories of how Burl had helped them or someone important to them. Some stories were about simple acts of kindness. Other stories involved acts that required more effort on his part.

It had been early in the evening when the surgeon came out and broke the news that Burl had been taken to intensive care. Burl's parents had gone up to see him. Less than ten minutes later they had returned to the waiting room white faced. Burl had gone into cardiac arrest almost the moment they had gone into his room. It was thirty minutes before his parents had been told they could see him again.

Kat had gone home wondering if Burl was going to survive the night. She couldn't believe at the time how upset she felt. Not finding her son at home, she had gone over to Maggie's house to pick up Herbie. She visited a few minutes with Maggie and George giving them the lowdown on events at the hospital. The young couple listened horrified at how Burl had gone into cardiac arrest when his parents went into the room. George knew Burl's parents and couldn't imagine how they must have felt.

Kat had taken Herbie home and then put him into bed. She turned on the news hoping to catch some more information about what had happened at the mall. Some of the details she heard at the hospital about what had happened had been contradictory. There was even confusion as to when he had been shot. One person said it was before he had taken care of a robber and another said it was after he had taken care of both robbers.

Apparently it was a slow news day and the local news channels had covered the robbery like it had been the president who had been shot. There were dozens of interviews with people who worked in the mall. The stories they told were about a nice guy who helped everyone. Quite a few women were crying while talking to the reporters. Kat had watched the news feeling sick to her stomach.

The night had been spent wondering what life without Burl around would be like. She didn't like the future her imagination created. It wasn't the absence of the big things that he did that painted a bleak future, just a lot of little things like bringing over the right Halloween costume for Herbie, mowing her lawn, and cleaning snow off the drive and walkway. It was knowing that he would be there if she needed him to watch Herbie or a ride to take her car in to be serviced.

The front door opened startling her out of her trip down memory lane. She turned to look at her husband. She wiped her eyes to hide her tears.

"How was your day?" she asked struggling to get control of her emotions.

"Same old, same old," he answered taking note of the wetness around her eyes.

She said, "Dinner will be ready soon."

"What's the matter, honey?" he asked.

"I was just listening to a CD and it brought back some painful memories," she answered.

"What CD?"

"A new CD by Laura Lane. It came in the mail today," she answered.

Laura Lane had achieved a fame that she had never pursued. The combination of singing and story telling resonated with people jaded by Hollywood creativity. It seemed in her stories the smaller the person, the greater their story. People flocked to hear her tell stories about individuals who were just like them.

Her reputation had started spreading as a result of videos posted on the internet. They were relatively long for that medium since each one showed her singing one of her songs and then telling a story. Then had come the CDs which she sold between sets. A guy she met in Boston put up a website and started selling her CDs on it.

Everything snowballed from there. People started showing up at places where she was planning on singing before she even got there. Soon she was attracting huge crowds that created problems for local law enforcement who weren't ready to deal with hundreds of people waiting for a singer to show up on a sidewalk somewhere. Rather than playing on the street, she was now playing clubs and concert halls.

"How is it?" he asked.

She answered, "It's excellent. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard. She's still weaving stories between her songs. I was just listening to her tell a story. She told a very good one about a big man with a heart a mile wide."

"I haven't heard that one," he said. "Is it one of her new ones?"

"No. It is one of her old stories," Kat answered. "She's been telling it a long time now."

"I wonder why I haven't heard it before," he said. He thought he had heard most of her stories.

"I'm not surprised considering who it is about," she said with a smile.

"Who is it about?" he asked.

He settled on the couch next to her and threw an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled against him feeling comforted and protected in his embrace.

"I'll tell you later."

"Was there a letter?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Can I read it?" he asked.

"It was addressed to me," she answered.

"She always liked you better than me," he said grumpily.

"Rightfully so," Kat said with a smile.

"Can I read the letter?"

"If you beg nice enough," she answered.

"Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top," he replied.

Grinning, she held out the letter for him. He took it from her and started to read the letter. He laughed upon reading the first line. It basically said that he was allowed to read this one since he would do it anyway.

Kat snuggled into his side and thought back to the day after Burl had been shot. She had stopped by the hospital before heading off for her job at the diner. Burl's condition was still listed as critical. People were still stopping by the hospital to see how he was doing. His parents were the only ones allowed in his room and they were worried.

Hoping that he could tell her what happened at the bank, she made her way to Carl's hospital room. A ten minute chat clarified her understanding of what had happened at the bank. It also led to a number of surprises.

The first surprise was that Carl had known all about her. He didn't know her name, only that she was the widow woman whose husband had been killed in the war. Carl had told her how Burl considered her to be a role model of a good woman and mother.

She remembered the shock she had felt upon learning Burl was planning on joining the Army. She wondered if he was planning on doing it to impress her with the fact that he could be just as good as Jimmy. She had immediately felt guilty wondering if her continued talk about Jimmy had made him feel inferior.

The reason Burl had given Carl for joining the Army had confused Kat. She couldn't imagine why he would consider himself expendable. There was no reason for him to think that way. He had so many people who depended upon him like she did. No man with that many friends was expendable.

The day had led to additional surprises. Burl's parents had asked her to stop by his house to mail his bills. She had taken the opportunity to wander around his house doing what women enjoy more than shopping - snooping. She stopped by his chair and looked at the stack of books on the coffee table. Burl was a people person. It had never dawned on her that he spent every evening alone.

It had taken her some time to locate the stack of bills on the kitchen counter. Among the bills, she had found an envelope with her name on it. She had stared at it knowing there was money inside. She had found her mysterious benefactor whose help had saved her from having to take 'dates.' She wondered if he knew to what lengths she had gone to earn a little extra money.

"It seems like things are going great for Laura," her husband said breaking her out of her thoughts.

Kat said, "She's happy."

"I'm glad," her husband said. "Where's Herbie and Carl?"

"Herbie is babysitting Junior and he took Carl with him," Kat answered. She had been married for a year and suddenly discovered she was pregnant. Her husband had been overjoyed. Herbie was the perfect big brother.

"What are George and Maggie doing?" he asked.

"They're just having an evening out," Kat answered.

It had been nice of them to come up with an excuse to get the kids out of the house. She had plans for that evening; plans that wouldn't work too well with youngsters around the house.

"Hmm, that means you and I are alone," he said.

Kat said, "I've got dinner in the oven."

"Lasagne?" he asked after sniffing the air thinking he recognized the scent.

"You bet," Kat answered.

"You're too good for me," he said.

Grinning, Kat replied, "You won't get any arguments out of me on that."

Her husband laughed. "I know better than to argue."

"If we're going to eat, I should probably get off the couch," Kat said.

He replied, "We can eat later. I'm enjoying sitting here with my arm around you too much."

"The sooner we eat, the sooner we can celebrate our anniversary," Kat said.

They had been married for seven years. To say that their marriage had taken everyone by surprise wouldn't be an understatement. The day after Emma's funeral, she had proposed to him and he had accepted thinking it was a joke. She wasn't joking and the next thing he knew he was married. She didn't regret it for a minute.

"How would you like to celebrate it?" he asked as if he didn't know.

He had given her a nice silver pendant that morning. She had promised to wear it and nothing else that night. He was looking forward to her keeping her promise.

"Dinner and dancing."

"Dinner and dancing?"

"I was thinking we might do a little horizontal tango in the bedroom after a romantic dinner," Kat replied in a sultry voice.

She opened her bathrobe showing that she was wearing nothing except the silver pendant. Rather than hanging around her neck, the pendant was suspended from a thin silver chain that went around her waist. The heart shaped pendant pointed to the promised land.

Her husband rose from the couch. Turning to face her, he held out a hand to help her up. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Taking his hand, Kat rose gracefully from the chair. She cupped his face with her hands. Smiling softly, she said, "I love you, Burl."

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This story is dedicated to all of the Burls of this world. We all know one. The less than attractive person with a heart the size of the whole outdoors. It might be the woman who brings cookies to the office for every holiday and remembers our birthdays with little gifts that don't cost much, but remind us that others appreciate our existence. It might be the guy down the street who always has the right tool and the time to help us to make a necessary repair around the house.

There are a lot of Burls in this world. We know them and come to depend upon their generosity, but do we really appreciate them as a person? Do we look beyond the friendly facade to see the loneliness in their soul? What does it take for us to realize just how important the Burls are to us? Do they have to lie on death's door before we notice them and give thought to what our life would be without them? It seems that way sometimes.


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The End
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Posted:  2010-11-27
Last Modified: 2010-12-07 / 12:32:20 pm
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