CH16

It is now one month later: (October)

Rick was actually surprised when Bob had answered his cell phone. They all found out that he and his family had retreated to the hospital that the 54th had taken over. Unfortunately Bob also had a lot of questions that Rick and Kate had difficulty with answering when it came to how they knew this would work.

In the end it had come down to. "Please, please Bob you need to trust me and find someone that can test this out and get it out to everyone else. I've tried the CDC and WHO but they don't appear to exist anymore, and if we want to save what we still have, you need to do this." Rick would have gotten down on his knees if it would have helped. Even if it did sound like he already was.

"Fine, I'll do what I can Richard, but you owe me and I want to hear about everything after this is over." Bob warned him.

"You think he'll do it?" Kate asks after they hang up.

"Oh he'll try. Bob may be a politician, but he's one of the ones that wouldn't have left us out here to die while he hides in a multi-million dollar tax payer paid facility. The only real question is does he have contacts with anyone still un-infected that can do anything about this?" Rick mentions.

"And how does he do that inside a hospital?" Kate adds.

"Well, … We've heard that from Espo that Montgomery is sending out large heavily armed patrols to help those people that he can't fit inside the precinct. It's likely that the 54th is or can do the same. If he can get back into one of the emergency command facilities or vans that New York has, he'll have a way to contact the outside world." Rick offers.

"OEM." Kate was nodding her head. "Emergency Operations Center. 65,000 square feet to handle city wide emergency situations. Hurricane Sandy, the blackout in 2003, the Transit strike in 2005, the blizzard of 2010, Hurricane Irene. Audio/visual communications, built-in giant emergency generators, the ability to contact pretty much anyone anywhere." Kate goes back to nodding her head.

"So why isn't he already there?" Martha asks.

"What happened, happened really fast Martha. It's likely that there is no one in that building. If looters could get into it, it might even been stripped clean and destroyed by now.

If our senators had thought of people besides themselves, it just might be manned right now and Bob and others would be there right now. But they didn't." Kate was now joining Rick in getting madder and madder at them, especially one of them in particular.

In any event what Bob could or couldn't do was out of their hands now. They would keep contacting Robert, Andy, Espo and the Midwest contacts when they became available and tell them about the invisibility shots, and pray.

It did leave a question in her mind though. How did the military know to blow all access to Manhattan?

Martha had informed them they she would be ready for her one woman play next week, she was still trying to memorize her lines and get her actions correct.

Martha had passed Kate on her way out to the docks where she was doing her practicing. It was far enough out there that she could be uninterrupted and not be overheard and spoil things for her audience.

"Thank you Katherine." Martha have half a second thought about kissing her cheek, but settled for a heartfelt hold of Kate's arm.

Martha left a shining smile on Kate's face after Martha was gone that lit up the room.

It turned out that Martha hadn't asked for any backdrop, she had decided that she didn't need it.

"I call this "PEARL OF WISDOM." Martha informs him on the day that she was ready.

Pearls of Wisdom

"Oh, my heck!" was all I could say when I first saw him. I'd never seen a man in quite this way before. I'd finally ripened... got my buds and flowered. Boys no longer caught my fancy; I was after a whole hunk of man now. I examined him with a horrific fascination that my mother had warned me about. The church too for that matter.

(Mimicking an old lady)

"Protect your pearls, girls," said Sister Sue as she handed us each a little baggy. The baggy held something like a clamshell. Inside each shell was a little pearl.

(Pretending to be another young girl)

"I wonder if it's real," Jennie Lynn asked wide eyed. I looked at my own pearl dipped in Elmer's glue.

(Speaking as her younger self)

"Not sure," I said as I studied it. "I think you bite it or something to tell. Saw this murder mystery on TV once. They'd made some kind of drug look like pearls. They crushed the pearl necklace with a tea cup and discovered it." Jennie Lynn just gave me a snot nosed upturned look.

(Pause. Reflects as her older self) The meaning of the pearl escaped me until now.

(Mimicking old lady again)

"Keep that pearl safe. Don't let the boys have your pearl until you're ready," Sister Sue warned. I'm sure she attached some additional meaning to it, like about marriage, but I couldn't quite remember that part. I'd forgotten most the lessons I'd learned in church. Jesus no longer man enough to keep my attention.

(Remembering. Looking longingly ahead)

It was a cowboy that first got my attention. As I stared at this man, I grew hot and anxious. I about threw him my pearl. "Take it, take it, take it!" I chanted in my head. He was nearly close enough to taste. His horse sweaty from a long ride, he stroked it gently. I watched, wishing to be stroked. Then he saw me, his eyes dancing, his half grin giving me shivers.

(Mimicking a Western guy)

"Well, if it ain't my little cousin Tyranny."

(Aside)

Mama had given me that name. Grannie said momma lay there all puzzled to high heaven about what she was gonna call me.

(Mimicking her mom)

"Get me a dictionary," she ordered and thumbed through Webster's 'til she found a word that sounded nice: Tyranny. She thought it was pretty sounding.

(Pause)

Now where was I? Oh, yeah, my cousin Skeeter.

(Becoming her younger self)

"Hi, Skeeter," I climbed up the side of a stall and straddled it. Skeeter sauntered up and swatted me on the backside.

(Smacks her own rear for effect, then talks like a Western guy)

"Turning out to be a fine filly, ain't ya?" I blushed, still felt his hand where it had smacked me. I liked it. I wanted him to do it again. Skeeter leaned in close, so close I could have kissed him. His breath like beer and garlic mixed. I could nearly taste it on my lips as I licked them. "You better hold on tight to your pearl or some guy's gonna snatch it away." He smacked my rear again and headed out. I grinned uncontrollably. Please, God, let Skeeter take my pearl.

(Back to older self)

But he never did, though I wish he had. At least my family might still love me then. Then I'd be the victim. This way, I am the bad one. Raped at thirteen by a cousin would have been far more noble in my family's eyes. Sure Skeeter would have been in for it, but at least I'd be okay. You might be thinking that I'm kind of strange thinking that way about my cousin but I know my history. People's been doing this sort of thing for years you know. Look at Egypt. All kinds of those guys married family. In my biology class they talked about royalty marrying family like crazy in England. Though I guess that was kind of bad cause they got this disease. What was it again? Cycle cell ameba? Round here they still think family is okay. Plenty of people find love with a second or third cousin. Sometimes closer. Guys joke that they go to family reunions to meet girls. Mostly they don't, sometimes they do. My cousin Brock has it bad. His parents are related somehow and that's why Brock has fingers for toes and thumbs for fingers. Funniest looking hands you ever saw. We always point at Brock and say, now that's what happens when cousins marry. This ain't nearly as bad as the Eggerstons, distant cousins from a little town in Idaho called Mud Lake. Not too many people there that's not related. Old papa Eggerston has been married a few times. He's proud that his current wife isn't a blood relative; she's just his step-daughter. But previous family encounters had given his family strange hands without fingernails. Bizarre looking worms of hands. I'm like you all and I decided to stay clear of family. I shouldn't have bothered though. I'm worse off now because of it.

(Pause. Goes to crib)

I'd met Buck at a party. I got drunk. Drunk on beer and garlic. I must have eaten ten pizzas that night. Must have had twenty beers. Buck raped me... excuse me... courted me. They don't have date rape in these parts. Here they call it courtship.

(Mimics mother)

Sure, momma was a bit annoyed with old Buck. "You don't sleep with sixteen year old girls. You're thirty-one for Christ's sake." Momma gave him two options, marriage or jail. He took the logical course for once in his life and then slipped away.

(Picks up baby from crib)

So here I am, married, with a kid, still with my momma. My husband is somewhere getting some other girl drunk, taking her pearl. One day he may come back. But if he does, God help his pearls, cause I'm gonna cut 'em off. Cut 'em off and mount them like a couple of fish. Hang 'em right next to my team roping trophies and label them "pearls of wisdom." They'll be a warning to any man who tries to take my girl's pearl.

(Strokes babies head)

I often sit here praying all men will die before my baby's old enough. My best hope for her is to be a lesbian. "Don't let them take your pearl, little Ennui." Then I sing to her, singing, hoping she'll remember...

(Sings)

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, Momma's gonna buy you a butcher knife. If that butcher knife won't cut, Momma's gonna hit'm with a pickup truck..."

Martha bowed at the end as Jim, Rick, Kate and Alexis all clapped.

"Where you listening Alexis?" Rick asked her with his eyebrows held high.

"So not funny dad, so not funny." Alexis answers back, getting Kate to snort to keep from laughing while smiling wide as she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

Martha told them she would be ready in another week. She had most of her lines already memorized since it was going to be a short one. All she needed was some time to make her one and only required prop.

"We look forward to it Martha, I'm sure it'll be great." Kate decided to head for the pool next, all she needed was a towel.

"That was great grams." Alexis hugs Martha. "How did you do the voices?" Each one was different.

"Those are trade secrets dear, trade secrets. If you want to learn you can come to my classes. I'm sure you would be great, you've got Rodgers blood in you." Martha hugs her back.

"That's Castle blood mother." Rick corrects her.

"You're a Rodgers dear, changing your name to Castle doesn't erase who you are. You're a Rodgers and will always be a Rodgers." Martha pats his cheek and goes outside.

"I didn't know actresses were so passionate. I always thought they were all so, … flighty." Jim points out.

"Oh don't ever say that around my mother, not if you want to keep your family jewels." Rick warns him and moves into the kitchen to start thinking about a late dinner.

Jim almost fell for moving his hands to his family jewels but caught himself while Alexis grins at him, know that her grandmother wouldn't do anything to his family jewels. However what she might do to the rest of him was another matter. Especially his ears, he might end up deaf for days after she finished with him.

Alexis decided to join Kate in the pool till her dad called that dinner was ready.

"Your grandmother is pretty good honey. Makes me wish I'd seen more of her earlier in life." Kate comments while floating around and taking Alexis's hand in hers after Alexis was on her mattress.

"Grams has worked a lot of places over the years. If you believe dad she took any job that came her way when dad was young. Always on the move from school to school. She was even on a daytime soap opera for a number of episodes before they killed her I think." Alexis mentions.

"You know which one?" Kate turned he head to look at Alexis.

"Something called Tump Lane I think. It's been a while." Alexis was sure she got it wrong, but thought she was close.

"You mean Temptation Lane?" Kate was really looking at Alexis now with her mouth hanging open.

"Yeah, that's the one. I don't remember the name of the character she played. I think grams prefers the stage with live acting. Not take after take after take. Plus she gets to hear the applause instead of the director yelling out CUT!" Alexis laughed at herself.

"When I was young my mother would curl up around me when I was sick and we would watch episodes of Temptation Lane when she stayed home from work with me. Now I can't wait to get home and look her up, see if I saw her in an episode and just don't remember." Kate wanted to see episodes of Temptation Lane now.

"Dad would create forts with a humidifier inside while we laid on the floor watching TV." Alexis explains.

Kate squeezed Alexis's hand. "I'm sorry honey, what Meredith and Gina did should never have happened. It only makes me wish we could go back in time a whole lot further so I could be your mother. I'd give a lot for you to be my daughter." Kate offered.

"But I am your daughter." Alexis points out.

Kate squeezes Alexis's hand again. "I know honey, I just mean from birth so I could take all that pain away." Kate tells her.

"Technically I think you would have been too young for dad at the time mom." Alexis knew there was an age difference, even if they hadn't talked about it much.

"Don't go ruining my dream with your logic honey, let me have my moment." Kate moans.

"Sorry mom." Alexis shut up and didn't say anything else till Rick called dinner.

It actually wasn't even a week later when Martha announced that she would be ready for her next play tomorrow between lunch and dinner. Perhaps another play followed by dinner?

This time Martha was dressed normally like always in a one-piece with a wrap and flip flops, something all the women were wearing save for Kate and Alexis being in a bikini.

And this time Martha had a prop of sorts. She was holding it in her hand and it had everyone straining to get a better look at it. Kate turned her head to Alexis who was sitting next to her on the sofa while Rick and Jim had two of the side chairs.

"Is that an egg wearing a, … police uniform?" Kate whispered, not really expecting an answer, however Kate could feel Alexis nodding her head.

Martha had Kate's undivided attention now. Dying to know what she needed an egg dressed up as a cop for. Maybe this one was a comedy?

"I call it Humpty Dumpty on patrol." Martha starts off with as she waves her hand across the front of her egg cop.

"It was a dark and stormy night in fairyland. A night just perfect for witches. With fairy godmother in the clink, I began to wonder if we were ready for a world turned topsy-turvy. Sweet witches and friendly wolves. Wise wizards and princesses with pig noses. It's a world gone mad but somehow things are looking sunny-side up and we may find some kind of happily ever after in fairytale land.

I was about to call it a day because I had this over easy feeling coming over me... when she rolled in. She had the figure of a fortress and the countenance of a cobra. She was the goddaughter; the witchiest woman west of Walla Walla.

I wondered if this was some kind of yolk. I had already cracked the case of the sleeping prince. Fairy godmother was left with egg on her face. The sleeping spell was only the Easter coloring on a much more rotten egg. She had bigger eggs to fry. And the corruption nearly broke fairytale land apart. Thankfully they had me to put it back together again.

I could continue walking on eggshells around her like everyone else or I could put all my eggs in one basket and say it straight. I knew she was trouble and I told her so. I told her she was like one of those riddles that scramble your brains like, "what came first, the chicken or the egg?"

I told her to beat it unless she wanted to have a talk with all the King's horses and all the King's men.

But then her eyes teared up and I was speechless because I'd never seen this cool egg crack before. Hey, I've got feelings. I'm a bit soft-boiled around the dames. And this dame needed help. And help is what I do, because I'm

Humpty Dumpty, Private Egg. Hard-boiled detective.

(Author is D. M. Larson) Freedrama dot net. That story is not to be used or printed without the permission of the author!

It had all of them laughing while Kate was all but rolling all over Alexis not being able to stay in one place. When Kate finally found herself able to sit up straight she started clapping.

"That was AMAZING Martha, simply amazing." Kate kept clapping along with the others.

Kate got up to hug Martha and thank her again before heading to the kitchen to start work on dinner. "I expect another one Martha." Kate calls over her shoulder.

Martha got hugs and thanks from Rick and Alexis too, while Jim simply thanked her for her skill.

They were sitting outside eating under the stars again. "You wouldn't believe the trouble I had putting that little uniform on an egg. I broke 4 of them and was about ready to give up and go looking for a ping pong ball or something, till it occurred to me to boil it.

A hard-boiled egg for a hard-boiled detective." Martha was smiling.

"Walla Walla?" It had Kate laughing again as she covered her mouth with her hand. "All the Kings horses and all the Kings men." Kate kept laughing. "That was just too good Martha. I don't know how you're going to top that one, but I'm sure you'll think of something." Kate worked at trying to stop laughing while watching Martha smiling wide.

"I still expect another one Martha." Kate points at Martha to emphasize her point.

Kate was wrapped up around Rick late that night in their bed after having made love to each other. "Your mother is talented Rick. We should have brought our parents out here prior to this. It is so much fun having a family around you. I'd forgotten what that was like for so long." Kate tells Rick as she doodles a finger over his bare chest.

"It's the same for me Kate. I'm used to having just my mother when I grew up. We moved around so much so she could find work. Sometimes I didn't even last a year in the same school.

I tried to not even make friends since I knew I would never see them again. It's just that I couldn't help it. I've got guys I still call friend that I haven't seen in years. I send them a Christmas card each year but that's it.

We lived in some real dives during some of the lean times. Drafty and cold, and even through all that there was one constant.

I knew my mother was working hard, and I got to see a lot of back stage areas in my time, but I always knew I was loved." Rick tells Kate a little more of his past.

Kate flips over so she is straddled above him with them both still naked. "And you're still loved, because I love you more than I've ever loved anyone and I don't know what I'd do without you." And Kate leaned down to kiss him and start round 2.