EVERYTHING LIKE USUAL, AND HARMLESS, IN HAZZARD?

TWO MONTHS AFTER

Everything was like usual in Hazzard.

After Enos coming back from the Hospital, his dramatic experience was still a mystery: nobody trying to hurt him again, fortunately, and his memory still a blank page, unfortunately.

The Dukes and Hazzard's folks kept their eyes open about every stranger coming to town: nobody could escape from that silent and attentive examination. If the strangers didn't look suspicious and if they didn't try to come too much closer Enos, the Dukes and folks lowered down their guard. No many strangers arrived in Hazzard, anyway, beside traders, farmers from nearby Counties, and some girls lost on their way to Atlanta (girls promptly dated by Bo and Luke in their task to "take their eyes on any stranger coming to town"… their words).

Everything totally usual… and harmless.

Everything totally usual, like the patrol car's siren filling the air.

Bo looked at the dusty road behind The General Lee, "Speed trap," he turned to Luke and smiled.

Luke nodded, "Who's driving the car?"

"Cletus."

Luke nodded again and smiled, mirroring Bo's smile, "OK. I'm goin' to lose him."

Bo looked at the approaching patrol car and smiled, agreeing with Luke's implication: since Cletus was the one driving the patrol car, they could start the chase, whereas if the driver had been Enos they would have slowed down and let Enos catching them. Their renouncing at the chase would have hurt Enos' pride, they knew it, but, since their friend wore again his uniform just two weeks before, they preferred to give him the time to regain his usual physical and mental level instead of involving him in a chase that could end in a bad wreck because of his forced time away from those famous chases (and because of the reason of that forced time away from it).

But since Cletus was the one driving…

Luke sped up and The General Lee increased its distance from the patrol car, a dusty cloud between the two cars.

Everything was like usual, and harmless, in Hazzard: cars' roars, siren, dusty clouds, bends… and a final splash.

Luke stopped The General Lee and both cousins came out the car; sitting on the shut doors, their forearms on the car's roof, they stared at the patrol car slowly sinking into the pond, their eyes focused on the water's surface, looking for the uniformed men.

They were ready to jump out the car and ran to the pond, but it wasn't necessary: Cletus and Enos surfaced from the water and reached the patrol car's roof, sitting on it.

Bo and Luke observed Enos and Cletus friendly arguing, and they laughed.

"HEY CLETUS!" Bo yelled, "NEXT TIME YOU'LL BE MORE LUCKY. NOW, I'M GOIN' TO WARN COOTER 'BOUT YOUR CAR, DON'T WORRY."

Cletus put his hat off and shook his head in frustration, showing his disappointment.

Enos beckoned and smiled, "HI BO! HI LUKE!"

Luke glanced at Bo and smiled amused, then he turned to the pond, ""HI ENOS! IS EVERYTHING OK, BUDDY?"

"FINE, JUST A BIT DAMP! THANKS!" Enos laughed.

Luke shook his head and chuckled, while Bo, his head backward, erupted in his usual open and loud laughing.

Everything totally usual and harmless in Hazzard.

"In the pond? Is he fine?" Daisy stared at Bo and Luke talking about the chase and the obvious conclusion of it.

"He is fine, don't worry, Daisy," Bo came closer Daisy and patted her shoulder, winking, "we don't want to hurt your future hubby."

Daisy blushed, she grabbed a pillow from the couch and she hit Bo with it, "BO DUKE!"

After looking at Daisy taking care of Enos as he stayed at the farm, her real feelings for him weren't a secret anymore for Bo and Luke.

Uncle Jesse entered the living room and passed Daisy a bag.

"Thanks, uncle Jesse," Daisy grabbed the bag and headed to the door, "See you later."

Bo stared at the closing door and folded his arms, smiling, "I'm a bit jealous of ol' Enos. I too would like a woman coming to my home every evening for dinner, keeping me company and petting me."

Luke circled Bo's shoulders with his arm, "You can count on me and uncle Jesse for having dinner with you and for keeping you company. Maybe not for petting you, but you can count on us, anyway."

Bo shrugged and freed from Luke's arm, laughing and walking to the kitchen.

Uncle Jesse rolled his eyes and reached Bo in the kitchen, while Luke smiled and shook his head.

Everything was coming back to normality, in Hazzard.

Enos opened the door of his little apartment at the Boarding House, "Hi Daisy."

Daisy entered the apartment and rested the bag on the little table at the center of the room, a room being living room, kitchen and bedroom all together.

Everything like usual along the last two weeks, since the day Enos came back to his old life at the Boarding House: the bag with their dinner on the table, his hat and tie on a chair, their arms around each other's waist, their lips touching in a sweet kiss.

Everything like usual...

... Their joking with their new intimacy.

"Bo and Luke told me 'bout the chase," she caressed his cheek, in her eyes both worrisome and amusement, "my poor Enos. You should be more careful, you came back to work just two weeks ago."

Enos shrugged, his arms still around her waist, "It isn't my fault. If I were driving instead of Cletus, for sure I would have reached the General."

Daisy laughed and pinched his cheek, "I'm not so sure 'bout it, sugar. Catching a Duke isn't easy."

He held her close and looked into her eyes, amused, "I have caught you, Daisy Duke."

... Their repeated gestures.

They walked to the bed and lay down, Daisy supine and Enos cuddled by her side, in fetal position, his head on her chest: position and gestures experienced at the farm along the weeks Enos spent there, sleeping almost all the time, his sleep several times visited by nightmares.

... Their talking of nothing and everything at the same time, much more behind their words.

"Had you a good night?" Daisy caressed his hair, asking, and not asking, him about his nightmares.

"I slept all night long," he buried his face against her chest while she caressed his nape, letting her know he had no nightmare, especially no nightmares about crying women.

"Bad or good day?" she inhaled his hair's scent, in her question her attempt to measure his weakness.

"Nothing I can't solve with a good sleep. I had worse days," he rolled on his back and lay by her side, now, their head on the same pillow, and he stared at the ceiling, expressing his being still weak but less and less weak as days went by.

"I miss you at the farm, Enos. I liked to see you both soon after waking up and before going to sleep," she watched at the same ceiling.

Enos rolled on his side and rested on his elbow, looking down at her, a soft blush on his cheeks, "Daisy…would you marry me? I have saved some money since I started working, and I can find an apartment, here in town, or a small farm, where to live and build our family. I know last months have been… crazy, but… I want to come back to life after my experience… you know…" he held his breath.

"Oh Enos," she wrapped her arms around his neck and she pulled him to her, "yeah, I want to become your wife. Finally." She laughed, "I don't want to be the oldest bride in Hazzard."

Their lips met.

On the table, the sunset entering the window gave the bag a reddish shade.

Early in the morning after, The General Lee was reaching the town: Bo at the wheel, Luke at the passenger seat, and an excited Daisy between them.

Bo glanced at Daisy and smiled, "So, Enos finally asked you to get married."

Daisy nodded, "It means he has finally forgot 'bout what happened two months ago. I'm happy he has finally decided to move on."

Luke raised his eyebrows and turned to her, an ironic pitch in his voice, "He can't forget what he doesn't even remember."

Daisy punched softly his shoulder, "Luke! You know what I'm meaning."

Luke smiled, "I know, I know."

When The General Lee stopped in Hazzard's square, a growing crowd was forming in front of the Hazzard Police Department.

"What's goin' on?" Bo came out the car and walked to the crowd, followed by Luke and Daisy, the same questioning and confusing look on their face.

They pierced the human wall and they finally reached Enos, Cletus and Rosco at the center of it, their eyes pointed at the same spot.

Three letters, just three letters on the deputy patrol car's side:

D I E.

Red paint, like blood, some paint oozing from the letters like blood dripping along the car's side: bloody omen for Enos (everybody knew that word on the deputy patrol car was for Enos: even if Hazzard had actually two deputies, just one of them already almost fulfilled that omen).

Rosco turned to Cooter, his voice low and his look serious, "Cooter, take the patrol car and paint its side, hiding that word."

If only a white paint could hide what that word meant too…

Daisy turned to Luke, "Luke! We have kept an eye on every stranger coming to town!"

Luke had a deep breath and stared at the word, his arms folded, "Yeah, every stranger, thinking the harm could come from outside Hazzard," his blue eyes ran along the human wall around them and his voice lowered, "but we didn't think of the harm coming from Hazzard."

Daisy covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my God!"

Enos slowly turned to the Dukes, catching Luke's words, words adding nothing to his own thought; he put his hat off and he walked to the Police Department's entrance, tens of eyes on him, the eyes of the culprit too, while he kept his eyes down at the ground.

"Enos!" Daisy ran after him along the walkway heading to the Police Department's entrance; Bo and Luke followed her, their eyes still glancing at the crowd.