Chapter 53

 

            “Is--it’s so easy see now.”

 

As we hiked back down the trail, I asked,  “What’s so easy to see now?”                    

 

“Ashton and me.  Never would worked...have worked.  Don’-don’t know why  fough…I fought so hard.”

 

“Because you loved her. And because hindsight’s twenty-twenty as the expression goes.  It’s always easy to see things more clearly after time has passed and we’re not smack dab in the middle of the situation any longer.”

 

            Johnny glanced at me, but didn’t say anything.  I had no doubt he knew I was referring to him and Ashton, as well as referring to myself and how I’d treated him after Chris was shot. None of us is immune to having the clearer perspective the passage of time brings, least of all me.

 

            “Besides, in the end you were fighting for Trevor. It’s not wrong that you wanted him to grow up in a home with both his mother and father.”

 

            “Guess not.  Worked…is worked out okay for Trev though.  He seems like noral-normal kid, right?”

 

            I laughed. “As normal as any kid can be that belongs to you.”

 

            He shot me a smirk, but I saw the twinkle in his eyes.

 

            “Seriously, Johnny, yeah, he’s fine. A great kid.  He seems well adjusted to his lifestyle.”

 

            “Sometime I ‘rry…wo-worry that he needs his mother more than juz’ couple weeks year…a year, but Clarice good-she’s good mother to him too.”

 

            “Yeah, she is. And I don’t think you need to worry that he doesn’t see Ashton enough.  Like I said, he’s always seemed well adjusted and happy with the life you’ve provided for him. Joanne thinks so too.”

 

            He seemed more at ease after hearing Joanne’s thoughts.  Maybe knowing the thoughts of a woman whose opinion he valued helped settle the issue of Trevor’s maternal needs in Johnny’s mind.

 

The light was fading to murky gray by the time we reached Johnny’s place.  The days were growing a little longer, but still, by four-thirty it was dark.  I helped Johnny do chores, then watched as he secured the barn for the evening.  We left the horses, dogs, and cats to their food and rest as we entered the garage.

 

I glanced at my watch.

 

“I’d better go pick up Trevor.”

 

I expected Johnny to say he’d go in the house to get supper started and the table set. That was the habit we’d fallen into each time I left to pick Trevor up from school, or Gus’s, or whatever activity he was participating in.

 

I waited for a response, uncertain as to what was wrong when all Johnny did was stand there and chew on his lower lip as if he was in the middle of making some big decision.  I tried to help him out.

 

“Hamburgers will be okay, doncha’ think?”

 

            My voice brought him out of his thoughts.

 

“Uh?”

 

            “Hamburgers.  You can cook hamburgers if you were wondering what to make for supper.”

 

            “Oh…yeah.  Okay.  ‘Hen--when we…uh…when we get back.”

 

            “Back from where?”

 

            “Gus’s.”

 

            “You’re comin’ with me?”

 

            He gave a small nod.  I could see the reluctance in his eyes, but I silently gave him credit for taking the bull by the horns and doing what Carl said he had to – be seen in public again.  Although it was doubtful anyone but Gus would see Johnny when we picked up Trevor, I figured that was a good thing.  I could tell Johnny wasn’t ready to jump into Eagle Harbor’s public arena with both feet.  He needed to test the waters one small step at a time.  There was nothing wrong with that as far as I was concerned.  I was just proud that he was willing to do this much.

 

            Johnny climbed into the Rover’s passenger side.  I got behind the wheel, started the vehicle, and backed it out of the garage. Once we’d cleared the building, Johnny reached over and pressed the remote door opener sitting on the dashboard. The garage door slowly lowered as we headed down the driveway.

 

            Johnny was quiet throughout the ride.  I made a few casual comments like, “I’ve noticed it’s starting to stay light outside longer than it was when I first got here,” and “I wonder how Clarice’s brother is doing,” but got no more than mumbled responses I could barely hear over the sound of the Rover’s heater.

 

            I fell silent then.  I wanted to assure Johnny that he didn’t need to be embarrassed should Gus approach the vehicle to talk to him.  I wanted to remind him that his speech was a lot clearer than it had been just a few weeks earlier, and that Gus had been a good friend of his for a long time who wouldn’t spread gossip around Eagle Harbor if Johnny mispronounced a word, or left a word or two out of his sentence. 

 

            I flipped on the turn signal and swung the Land Rover into the wide parking lot, stopping it beneath a bright overhead light.  I glanced at Johnny as I put the vehicle in park, voicing what I knew was on his mind.

 

            “It’ll be okay, you know. Gus is a good guy.”

 

            I didn’t have to elaborate.  Johnny nodded.  Still, I saw his right hand tighten on the door handle.  An indication to me of just how nervous this seemingly small outing was making him.

 

            Johnny didn’t have time to dwell on his unease.  As soon as Trevor came out of the hangar and spotted his father in the passenger seat, he raced toward the vehicle with a big wave and even bigger grin.

 

            “Papa! Papa!”

 

            I hoped it was sinking in with Johnny how important his presence in the Land Rover was to Trevor.  Finally, after two long months, it was Trevor’s father who was picking him up.  Yes, I was the one driving, but that mattered little to the teenager who just wanted to see his life and his father’s life return to what had been normal for them prior to Johnny’s collapse.  

 

            Gus must have heard Trevor’s shout, because he poked his head out of the hangar.  He wiped his hands on a rag as he walked toward the Rover.  By the time he arrived, Trevor had tumbled into the backseat and was chattering with such excited animation that I could barely understand what he was saying.   He quieted down as Gus approached the front passenger side.  Unless Johnny wanted to be rude, he had no choice but to do what he did — press the button that lowered the window so Gus could talk to him.

 

            Gus stuck his right hand into the vehicle.

 

            “John!  Great to see you out and about.  It’s been a long winter, my friend.”

 

            Johnny shook the man’s hand.  “Yeah.  Has been.”

 

            “You’re lookin’ good there, Chief.”

 

            “Thanks.”

 

            “Trevor tells me you’re feeling a lot better.”

 

            “Yeah.”

 

            Johnny kept his answers as short as possible to ensure he didn’t stumble over a word.  I couldn’t hold that against him.  I was just glad to see him doing his best to converse with Gus. I wasn’t worried that his sentences didn’t extend beyond two or three words.

 

            “So when’ll you be back in that fire station where you belong?”

 

            Johnny’s eyes slid to me briefly before focusing on Gus again.

 

            “Uh…soon.”

 

            “Glad to hear it.  Bet you are too, huh?”

 

            “Yeah.  Yeah, am…I am.”

 

            “Well, I’d better get the office locked up and head on home.  Evelyn’ll want me to get cleaned up and take her out to eat since it’s Saturday night.  It was real good seein’ ya’, John.”  Gus patted Johnny’s shoulder. “Real good seein’ ya’.”  

 

            “Good see…to see you too.”

 

            Gus gave me a wave and a, “Hi, Roy.”  Before I could answer him, he was telling Trevor that he’d see him next Saturday.

 

            After Gus walked away from the vehicle, I put it in reverse.  I backed out of the parking space, put the gearshift in drive and headed for the road.   Trevor leaned over the front seat, resting his arms in the space between Johnny and me.

 

            “I’m glad you came with Uncle Roy tonight, Pops.”

 

            Johnny didn’t respond to what his son said. Instead, he used his left thumb to indicate that Trevor should sit where he belonged, then ordered, “Seatbelt.”

 

            Trevor did as Johnny instructed while asking, “What’s for supper?”

 

            “Hambu--hamburgers.”

 

            “If we’re just gonna have hamburgers, let’s eat somewhere in town.”

 

            “Nah-not tonigh’, Trev.”

 

            “Oh come on, Papa.  We haven’t been out to eat in forever.  Not since…”

 

            Trevor let his sentence die as an uncomfortable silence filled the Land Rover.  Had Trev been older, he probably would have understood that this trip to the airport, Johnny’s first real outing since he’d fallen ill, took a lot of emotional stamina on Johnny’s part.  I felt this was a good way for Johnny to begin making his presence in Eagle Harbor known again, and I also understood what Trevor didn’t. That Johnny might need to take this in small stages, rather than in one giant leap.

 

            A thirteen year old is a firm believer in giant leaps though.  Especially where the man he views as invincible is concerned. 

 

            “Come on, Pops.  Please.  We can just go to the diner if you want.   Or the café.  Just someplace where we can get cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate shakes.”

 

            I was sure Johnny would tell Trevor no again.  Knowing how persistent Trev could be, I wondered if I’d have to get his attention in the rearview mirror in order to send some kind of signal to let the subject drop.  I didn’t have to do that, however, because Johnny didn’t say no.  His answer was slow in coming, but when he finally spoke he said, “Not the diner or café.  Somepace-someplace where Unle-Uncle Roy and I can have something ‘sides-besides cheeburgers.”

 

            Trevor grinned.  “You got yourself a deal.”

 

            I took my eyes off the road long enough to look at Johnny.

 

            “You want me to head into town then?”

 

            He hesitated again, as though he was thinking about changing his mind, but finally nodded.

 

            “Yeah.  Go to Yuri’s Res’aurant.”

 

            I nodded, semi-familiar with the place. I’d passed by it numerous times on my way to and from Trevor’s school.  A sign outside the brick building advertised it as “Family Dining” which I took to mean no alcohol was served, and that the menu offered a variety of reasonably priced foods.

 

            We made the transition from desolate roads lined with Sitka pine trees to Eagle Harbor’s main street.  I drove through the heart of town, turned right, traveled one block, and then turned left into the restaurant’s parking lot.  I swung the Land Rover into the first available space.

 

            Trevor was out of the vehicle before either Johnny or I even got our doors open. I wasn’t sure if that was a sign of how hungry he was, or how excited he was to be in town with his father present.

 

            Johnny lagged behind me in exiting the Rover.  He paused in the act of closing the passenger door and stared at the building.  I caught the look of apprehension on his face.  I paused, waiting to see if he wanted to leave.  I wasn’t going to argue with him if he did, and was prepared to signal Trevor to be quiet and keep his protests to himself if his father couldn’t enter the restaurant.

 

            Maybe it was Trevor’s, “Come on, Pops.  I’m starving!” that made Johnny keep any reservations he had about this outing to himself.  Or maybe it was the fact that Trevor was already halfway to the door, his enthusiasm for both the upcoming meal and a Saturday evening away from the house barely containable.  I easily guessed that Johnny didn’t want to disappoint his son if something as insignificant as eating at a restaurant he’d undoubtedly eaten at dozens of times before made him so happy.  And I also suspected that Johnny knew to put a halt to this now meant he’d have to deal with an angry, sullen teenager for the rest of the night.

 

            I held one of the double glass entrance doors open for Johnny.  He hesitated just a brief second, then stepped inside with me following.  The restaurant wasn’t too crowded.  As we hung our coats up on a rack by the doors, I scanned the room.  A middle aged couple sat at a table, four men in their mid-twenties were at another table, two elderly couples were in a corner booth, and three other booths were filled with what I took to be the typical Eagle Harbor family – Mom, Dad, and anywhere from two to four kids.

 

            I suspected Johnny knew Yuri’s was generally quiet on Saturday evenings.  For fine dining in Eagle Harbor, people would choose the Seaside Inn or Covington’s Steakhouse. The teenagers going out for the evening probably found the Northern Lights Café or Donna’s Diner more to their liking, and for families headed to dinner and a movie, they probably went to Juneau. The selection of restaurants was larger, as was the selection of movies. Eagle Harbor has just one theater with one screen that plays the same movie for three months in a row.  Or so Trevor claims.

 

            We might have gotten to a booth without anyone noticing us if it hadn’t been for the robust man with a thick black handlebar moustache standing behind the cash register. When he spotted Johnny, he grinned and charged across the room.           

 

            “John!  John, is so good to see you!”

 

            Given how common the name John is, I assumed Eagle Harbor has several dozen of them.  That night, however, everyone in the restaurant seemed to know which “John” Yuri was greeting, because they all turned to look.

 

            Johnny had just enough time to introduce me to the man with the heavy Russian accent who was embracing him in a bear hug, before people spilled out of the booths and away from their tables.  Like that first day I’d taken Johnny to the clinic, he was treated like a war hero who’d been gone from his hometown for years.  He shook hands, made small talk with various people, and accepted more hugs, this time from an old man who told me Johnny’d saved his life the previous year when he was having a heart attack, and then from the young men who’d been seated at the table.  I found out later one of them was a full-time firefighter for Eagle Harbor, and the other three were members of Johnny’s volunteer force. They patted his back, gave him hugs, shook his hand, called him “Chief,” and probably would have carried him to a table on their shoulders if he’d have let them.

 

            It took a few minutes for everyone to return to their meals, but finally, out of respect for the fact that Johnny was out for the evening with his son and a friend, they dispersed.  I hoped Johnny would take stock of how well he’d gotten through this first journey into Eagle Harbor’s “public” life.  He’d barely stumbled over any words, and though he’d been careful to chose those words carefully so he could speak in complete, understandable sentences, I thought he’d done well.  Far better than I’d expected him to, though I didn’t tell him that.

 

            Yuri waited on us himself, which I quickly figured out wasn’t the norm since waitresses took care of the other customers.  Trevor ordered that cheeseburger and milkshake he’d been wanting, while I ordered broiled white fish and Johnny ordered baked chicken.  The food was good, though we dealt with frequent interruptions.  When people got up to leave they made a point of stopping by our booth to say goodbye, and to tell Johnny they were happy to see him up and around again.  When one of the volunteer firefighters asked, “When you comin’ back, Chief?” Johnny gave him the same answer he’d given Gus.

 

            “Soon.”

 

            Halfway through our dinner I’d seen Johnny’s eyes flick to the door and linger there. I’d glanced over my left shoulder, but didn’t see anyone I recognized.  A thin, middle-aged man with a receding hairline entered, followed by a woman and three children – a girl who looked to be seven or eight, a tow headed boy I guessed to be six, with a toddler, also a boy, carrying a stuffed dog clutched to his chest and bringing up the rear. They walked to the other side of the restaurant without looking our way.

 

            I turned to face Johnny again, but he didn’t offer any explanation as to why the man had caught his attention, or why he was tracking the guy’s progress across the restaurant.  Trevor didn’t appear to have noticed his father’s interest in the man.  His concentration alternated between the food in front of him, and the blond girl seated a few booths away from us that I recognized as a cheerleader I’d seen at Trevor’s basketball games. I’d heard Trev say, “Hi, Kylee,” when she came forward with her family to greet Johnny, and I’d caught the shy smile he’d given her. Since there was rarely anything shy about Trevor, it was easy for me to conclude he had a crush on her. 

 

            Johnny was quiet throughout the rest of the meal.  I wasn’t sure if he was upset about something or just enjoying the food, which was a welcome change from both my cooking and his.  Johnny’s eyes kept traveling to the man now seated with his family at a table next to the back wall of the restaurant.  I wondered if he was someone Johnny was trying to place.  It made sense that he’d grow quiet if he were berating his memory for failing him, something it didn’t do nearly as often lately as it had when I first arrived.  As Jennifer said to me over the phone one night after I’d told her how much Johnny’s memory had improved thanks in part to the games she’d sent with me, “As the expression goes, Dad, if you don’t use it you lose it.  Uncle Johnny needed someone there to force him to make his memory work again.  Sounds like you’re going a good job of it.”

 

            I thought both Johnny and I were doing a good job of it.  Because of that, I wanted to tell him it wasn’t important if he couldn’t remember the man’s name, or couldn’t figure out how he knew him.  Small setbacks like these were normal.  If we hadn’t learned anything else during the past month, we’d learned that.  But we’d also learned that Johnny eventually overcame these setbacks.  I almost reminded him of that fact, but since I wasn’t certain what was wrong, or why the man was holding his interest, I decided it was best not to say anything unless Johnny revealed what was on his mind.

 

              We finished eating and ordered dessert.  When Yuri brought the apple cobbler and ice cream all three of us had requested, he told Johnny the meal was on the house.  Johnny protested that, but Yuri clamped a thick hand on his shoulder.

 

“No no.  Is a celebration tonight for you.  Because you are among us again after a bad time.  I want do for you.”

 

            “Yuri, no.  I don’-don’t want you to do that.”

 

            “And why not?  Who make house calls on my mother to check her…what you call it – vital signs? —  during her last weeks when she no longer strong enough to visit doctor, and want to die at home and not in hospital?”

 

            “I wanted do-to do that.  I didn’t ‘pect-expect anything return-in return.”

 

            “I know.  And you did not expect anything in return either, when you came to my house in middle of night that time Olga and I were in Anchorage, and Michael call you because he sure Stefan was dying from appendix attack.”

 

            Johnny chuckled at the memory as Yuri looked at me and explained.

 

“My sons.  First time my wife and I leave them alone, and what do they do but wake our fire chief up in middle of night. Stefan had bad stomachache and was throwing up.  Michael panic and call John.  Before Olga and I leave I tell him if you have emergency you call fire department.  So what does boy do?  He decides to go right to the top. Fire department is not good enough for him.  Oh no.  He wants only fire chief.  So he call John at home at two in morning in middle of a January snowstorm.  Trevor just little boy then.  John has to get him out of bed, wrap him in quilt, and bring him along.  And for what?  A fifteen-year-old who ate too much pizza from that back stabbing sneak Ochlout.  Can you believe it?  My own sons buying pizza from that crook.  They deserve stomachaches, I tell Olga.  They deserved to be sick as dogs for a week as far as their papa was concerned.”

 

Yuri looked at Johnny as he finished. “So see?  This is but a small reason why you, and your son, and your friend from the great state of California, deserve a meal on Yuri tonight.”

 

Johnny gave in at that point, probably knowing we’d be subjected to more reasons why Yuri felt the need to thank him with a free meal if he didn’t quit protesting and just accept the offer graciously.

 

All three of us thanked the man.  He moved off to talk to other patrons then, leaving us to eat our dessert.  Ten minutes later we were finished and stood to leave.  Trevor lingered behind us a moment, making eyes with Kylee one last time before hurrying to join his father and me by the coat rack.  Or maybe I should say join me by the coat rack, because just as we reached it, Johnny kept walking toward the back of the restaurant with a purposeful stride to his step.   He approached the table where the man with the receding hairline was sitting with his family.  The guy looked up, surprise crossing his bland features that was quickly replaced with an expression of amiable friendliness.  He started to stand.

 

“Chief.  Good to see--”

 

“You’re not taking my job from me.”

 

“What?”

 

Johnny jabbed a finger toward the man’s chest.  “You heard me.  You’re not taking my job from me, Ellison.”

 

Now I knew why the man had captured Johnny’s interest.  From the clear way he was able to verbalize his thoughts, I also knew why Johnny had been so quiet.  He must have been sitting there while we were eating, silently practicing over and over again what he was going to say so he wouldn’t stumble over the words.

 

“Chief, come on.  I’m not--”

 

“You are too.”

 

The man’s smile never left him.  The more I observed Tim Ellison, the more I could see why Johnny didn’t like him. There was something phony about him. Something fake and insincere.  He was exactly the kind of guy John Gage would see right through and have little tolerance for.

 

“John, whether you believe me or not is neither here nor there. Now isn’t the time or place for a discussion like this, don’t you agree?”

 

Johnny scowled at the patronizing tone.  Trevor tugged on the sleeve of my coat, whispering, “Uncle Roy, what’s going--”

 

I held up a hand to silence the boy so I could hear the rest of the exchange.

 

“Then name time--the time and place.”

 

“I…well I’m not prepared to do that at this moment.”

 

“Get prepared, and get read--ready for a fight, because that’s what you’ll get if you try take--and take my job from me.”

 

Johnny pivoted on his right heel, marching for the door.  He ignored Ellison’s call of, “Chief Gage, wait!  John!” and kept right on walking.  He passed Trevor and me without looking in our direction.  His jaw was clenched; his hands balled into fists.  He smacked the door open with one palm. 

 

I had the uneasy feeling that every eye in the restaurant was looking in our direction.  I grabbed Johnny’s coat off the rack, said, “Come on,” to the wide-eyed Trevor, put an arm around his shoulders, and ushered him out.

 

Chapter 54

 

Johnny was behind the wheel of the Land Rover when we got there.  Trevor paused outside the vehicle.  He looked at me, looked through the glass at his father, then looked to me for guidance once again.

 

Quietly I said, “Get in the back and let me handle this.”

 

“But he’s not supposed to be driving.  His doctor hasn’t--”

 

Without taking my eyes off of Johnny, I handed Trevor his father’s coat and instructed, “Get in the back, son.”

 

Trevor hesitated before finally doing as I said.  The incident with the tractor was all too vivid in his mind at that moment.

 

I walked around to the driver’s side.  I waited until Johnny finally opened the door far enough that he could hear me. 

 

            “Wanna switch places?”

 

            “No.”

 

            “Johnny--”

 

            “I’m driving, Roy.”

 

            “John--”

 

            “It’s my truck.  I’m driving.” He held a hand out for the keys.  “Don’--don’t worry.  It not-it’s not like last time.  I’m okay.”

 

            “You sure?”

 

            “I’m sure.”

 

            I wasn’t concerned about his ability to drive the vehicle.  He’d progressed enough since I’d arrived that as long as I was sitting beside him and he wasn’t trying to maneuver though L.A. during rush hour, it didn’t worry me to turn the keys over to him.  What did worry me was allowing him to drive for the first time when he was so angry.  Like Trevor, I also vividly remembered the incident with the tractor.

 

            When I didn’t immediately give him the keys, Johnny said, “Roy,” and thrust his hand forward.  I studied him.  Without any words being exchanged between us, I got a firm nod of confirmation that he was okay and in control of himself.

 

            I handed him the keys, walked in front of the Rover, and climbed in on the passenger side.  Trevor’s eyes flicked between his father and me.  I gave him a smile and a wink that I hoped conveyed my trust in Johnny’s ability to get us home safely.

 

            Trevor sat stiffly in his seat, his eyes on his father’s back once again.  Johnny looked over his shoulder to make sure the path behind us was clear before backing out of the parking space.  He said to his son, “Put you-your seatbelt on, Trev.”

 

            Trevor did as he was told, but it wasn’t until we were halfway to the house that he finally sat back against the seat and relaxed. 

 

            Nothing was said about the exchange with Ellison as Johnny drove us home.  Nothing had to be said for me to know Johnny’s insistence on driving was the only way he currently had to prove to himself that he was an independent adult who could still do his job. 

 

If Tim Ellison was willing to base Johnny’s abilities to be Eagle Harbor’s Fire Chief on how well he handled getting Trevor and me home safely that night, then Johnny would have been back at the station the following day.  We arrived at the house without incident.  No missed turns. Plenty of time allowed to brake for all stop signs. No traffic violations of any kind. I didn’t see any indications that his short term memory or reflexes were going to impair his driving, though I wasn’t prepared to make a statement in that regard to Johnny’s doctor just yet.  I wanted to see him behind the wheel several more times, and in heavier traffic, before making a final judgment.  I had a feeling I was going to get that chance when he pulled the Rover in the garage and didn’t hand me the keys after shutting it off.  Instead, the keys went into the right front pocket of his blue jeans.

 

The tension didn’t leave Trevor’s face until we were all climbing out of the vehicle.  Johnny teased him a little then, ruffling his hair and saying, “See.  Your ol’ man’s still go-got what it takes.”

 

Trevor gave Johnny a smile, but I could still see the worry in his eyes.  Johnny saw it too.

 

“What’s wrong?” he asked his son as we walked to the house.

 

“What did you mean when you told Mr. Ellison he wasn’t taking your job from you?”

 

Johnny put an arm around Trevor’s shoulders, but didn’t immediately respond.

 

“Papa?”

 

“We’ll talk in house…the house, Trev.”

 

We entered the laundry room.  After shoes had been removed and coats hung up, Johnny led the way into the kitchen.  He indicated for Trevor to take a seat at the table, then sat down next to him. 

 

“I’ll go upstairs and call Joanne while you two talk.”

 

“You don’ have to.”

 

“I know, but maybe you’d rather talk to Trevor alone.”

 

“Why?”  The boy’s eyes darted from Johnny to me to Johnny again. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

 

“You stay--can stay if want to, Roy.”  Johnny turned his attention to Trevor. “It’s okay, Trev. It’ll be okay.”

 

“What’ll be okay?”

 

I took a seat at the table across from Johnny since he didn’t mind if I remained.  I wasn’t sure if I could be of any assistance, but if nothing else, I’d dealt with upset teenagers often enough in my life to know that just the moral support from another adult was sometimes a big help to a father in situations like these.

 

Johnny didn’t hold any information back as he told Trevor of the news Carl brought that afternoon.  I’m not sure if Johnny would have revealed any of it to Trevor at that time had his temper not got the best of him when he spotted Ellison, but since it had, he evidently realized his only choice was to be honest with Trev about what they were facing.

 

“The guy’s a jerk!” Trevor declared when Johnny finished. “A total jerk!”

 

“Trevor, don’-don’t say that.”

 

“But you think so. You must, or you wouldn’t have yelled at him in the restaurant like you did.”

 

“I didn’t yell.”

 

“You did too.”

 

Johnny looked at me. I nodded.  “You did.”

 

He shot me a “Thanks a lot,” expression, then looked at Trevor again.

 

“I was mad, Trev.  I mean-meant what I said.  I’ll fight for my job if I have to.  Ellison need-needed know that.”

 

“If he wants to take your job from you that means he’s a jerk.  You’re the best fire chief this town has ever had.  The best paramedic chief in the entire state.  Everyone says so.”

 

“Maybe do…they do.  But Ellison is righ’ when he says I need to be at work.”

 

“You will go back to work!  Look how much better you are than you were a month ago. You’ll go back, Papa.  I know you will.”

 

“Time, Trev. All takes time.  Time Ellison is in his rights not give…to give me.”

 

“But can’t your doctor tell him that you’ll be back if you just have a couple more months to get better?”

 

“He can, but the Family Med—Med’cal Leave Act only gives me twelve week--weeks.”

 

“Then whatever that is, it’s stupid.  It should give you as much time as you need.”

 

“I wish did--it did, but that’s not the way it works, son.”

 

Trevor’s voice softened a little, and I could see the fear in his eyes. 

 

“What…what will happen to us if you don’t get to keep your job?  We won’t be able to live in this house anymore, will we?”

 

“No.  We won’t.”

 

“Will we have to leave Eagle Harbor?”

 

“No, we won’t leaf--leave Eagle Harbor.  It’s home to both us-of us.”

 

“But where’ll we live?”

 

“I’ll find a house buy…to buy or rent.”

 

“What about the horses?”

 

“We prob’ly have to sell them.”

 

“Nic and Tasha?  Will we have to sell them too?”

 

Johnny shook his head. “No.  We won’--won’t sell Nic and Tash.”

 

“The cats? What about the cats?”

 

“We’ll fine-find them good homes.”

 

“Can I keep Sassy?”

 

Of the eight cats out in the barn, Sassy was a calico they’d had since Trevor was three or four, and his favorite. 

 

“Yes. You keep Sassy.”

 

“Does that mean she’d get to be a house cat if we have to move and don’t have a barn any more?

 

“Guess so.”

 

“She’d like that.”

 

Johnny smiled in a way that told me he wasn’t crazy about the idea of two large dogs and one furry cat living in the house, but he’d put up with the menagerie for Trevor’s sake.  “I’m sure would--she would.”

 

I knew this wasn’t nearly as much about the horses, dogs, and cats as Trevor wanted Johnny to believe, but rather, it was about security.  It was about knowing that, even if his life had to change, the important things would remain the same.  His home would still be in Eagle Harbor.  He’d still have some of his animals, and the others would be given or sold to people who would take good care of them. And most important, his father would still be his father in every sense of the word, even if he were no longer Eagle Harbor’s fire chief.

 

“We’ll be okay, Trev,” Johnny assured his son. “No matter what happens, we be…we’ll be all right.”

 

“Like paying the bills and stuff too?  Even if you’re not working?”

 

“I’ll get my pension and dis’bility pay.  Might have live…to live on a tighter budget, but we’ll be fine.”

 

“I could work more hours for Gus if you need me to.  I could quit hockey and basketball so I could make more money.”

 

Johnny smiled again while reaching out to rub a hand up and down his son’s back. 

 

“You don’ have quit anything.  Even if I’m not working, I can still ‘vide-provide for us.”

 

Trevor relaxed a little then, secure in the knowledge that financially they’d be fine.  I had no reason to doubt Johnny’s words in that regard either.  He’d always been frugal, which led me to suspect he had a good deal of money packed away. Given that his job as Eagle Harbor’s fire chief provided him with a home to live in free of charge, he’d undoubtedly been able to save a good portion of each paycheck.  Although some of that money was probably earmarked for Trevor’s college education, at least Johnny would have it to live on if it was needed. Trevor was a smart, industrious kid. Scholarships and part-time jobs would put him through college if it came to that.

 

Trevor asked Johnny a few more questions before finally being satisfied that his father would fight as hard as he could to keep his job, but as well, understanding that if Johnny lost the fight, they’d somehow get through it and come out okay.

 

Trevor sat with us a couple of more minutes, then drifted into the great room.  He stood in front of the home entertainment center, searching for a movie from the vast collection Johnny had stored there. 

 

I wasn’t sure Johnny had done the right thing by confronting Ellison, but now that his discussion with Trevor was over he didn’t seem to want to talk about it further, or maybe he didn’t care what I thought.  Either way, I felt it was a good time for me to leave father and son alone for the evening.  Instinct told me Trevor needed to be with Johnny, even if that meant they just sat together watching a movie. 

 

I stood. 

 

“Think I’ll head upstairs.  I need to call Jo.”

 

“Come back down when done…when you’re done and watch a movie with us. Trev’ll want popcorn in an hour or so.”

 

I chuckled and patted my full stomach. “The last thing I need tonight is more food.  Thanks anyway, but I’m ready to call it a night.  Might read a while after I talk to Jo, but with the way I’m feeling right now, I won’t be awake much longer.”

 

Johnny didn’t question my choice.  We walked together to the great room. I said goodnight to Trevor, then headed up the stairs.  When I reached the top and turned to head down the hallway, I glanced below.  Because of the open stairway, I had a clear view of half the great room.  Johnny and Trevor were seated together on the couch, Trev with the back of his head resting on Johnny’s left shoulder, and Johnny with his left arm around Trevor.  I easily guessed it had been a couple of years since the boy who was now a teenager had sat like that with his father. 

 

Sometimes, no matter how old we get, we need to know the one person who means the most to us will always be there, making the world right when everything about it seems to be going wrong.  Right then, I thought the best thing for Trevor was to draw that feeling from his father.  Just like I thought the best thing for Johnny was to give that feeling to his son. At that moment, I doubted either one of them realized how much their lives were returning to normal, despite the uncertainties they were still facing.

 

When I talked to my wife a few minutes later, I told her for the first time since I’d arrived in Eagle Harbor that no matter what the future held for our old friend John Gage, I knew without a doubt he’d be okay. 

 

“He’s gonna be fine, Jo,” I said with a smile in my voice. “He’s still got some rough roads to travel, but he’ll be all right.”

 

            After the call ended, I put my cell phone on the nightstand and picked up my book.  Laughter drifted up from the great room that I identified as both Trevor’s and Johnny’s.  I smiled again, and for a change, that night I didn’t dream about the day I attacked my best friend in a hospital corridor while shouting at him to get the hell out of my life.

 

Chapter 55

 

If the people of Eagle Harbor had been wondering where their fire chief was and when he’d be seen around town again, they didn’t have to wonder any longer. 

 

It was a lot harder on Johnny to become a fixture in public places again than he made it look. But that night we’d gone to Yuri’s Restaurant appeared to mark when he grew determined to do all he could to keep his job, and no matter what the outcome, determined to start living again.

 

On Monday morning, Johnny drove Trevor to school with me beside him in the passenger seat. After Trev was dropped off we went to the grocery store, where Johnny did the shopping for the first time since January.  When the groceries had been stored in the cargo hold, Johnny climbed behind the wheel again and drove us to the fire station.  To say he was greeted like a king who’d been exiled to a foreign country for several decades still wouldn’t accurately describe the mood that prevailed throughout that station when he walked in the door.  Even grouchy Happie Alipak couldn’t keep from smiling and giving him a hug, though within seconds she was grumbling at him about how hard she was working and for so little pay. He gave her a hard time right back, but couldn’t keep the grin off his face while he was doing it.  He spent an hour there, and probably would have spent several more if I hadn’t finally reminded him quietly, “Johnny, you’ve got a P.T. session in twenty minutes.”

 

I could tell he didn’t want to leave.  He was the happiest I’d seen him since I’d arrived.  He’d come alive the moment he walked into that station.  All concerns he had about his speech, or the slight limp that still cropped up from time to time, seemed to vanish.  I had a feeling that when he thought about it later, he’d have a multitude of regrets over not having gone to the station sooner.  He’d wonder what he’d been so afraid of. And he’d wonder why he’d been so reluctant to be seen by these people who thought so much of him, and who didn’t care one bit if he stumbled over a word now and then, or had to take a few seconds to collect his thoughts before speaking. 

 

 While Johnny made the rounds visiting with fire and police personnel, Carl took me aside in the dayroom.

 

“I heard what happened at Yuri’s on Saturday night.”

 

I smiled. “I suppose half of Eagle Harbor’s heard about it.”

 

Carl raised an eyebrow. “Half?  Come on, Roy, you don’t give the people of this town enough credit.  Everyone’s heard about it by now except maybe old Gil Nelson, and that’s only because he’s cooped up in his house this winter battling a bad case of gout.  In another half hour or so, Pierre Charbonneau will make his way over to Gil’s with the morning paper and a box of doughnuts.  It’ll be right about then that the entire town’ll know John confronted Ellison at Yuri’s.”

 

“What do you think?” I asked. “About what Johnny did, I mean.  Good move or bad move?”

 

“I don’t know.  I give him credit for letting Ellison know where he stands, but I’m not sure doing that in public was such a wise move. It kinda puts Ellison on the spot, ya’ know?  Makes him look like the bad guy.”

 

“Yeah, it does. I don’t believe that was Johnny’s intention, but I think he should have made an appointment to see Ellison privately and discuss it with him a bit more…calmly and tactfully than he did.”

 

“Did you tell him that?”

 

I shook my head. “He hasn’t said anything about it to me since it happened, so I assume he doesn’t want my opinion.” I smiled. “He probably knows what I’ll tell him.”

 

Carl chuckled. “He probably does. 

“And he probably doesn’t care.”

 

Carl chuckled again.  “Nope.  Probably doesn’t.”

 

Carl didn’t give me any further insight into what he thought the odds were of Johnny keeping his job. Maybe he didn’t know. Or maybe he felt the fire station wasn’t the place to discuss it for fear we’d be overheard.  The subject would have dropped on its own anyway, because Johnny returned to the dayroom then, and a few minutes later we were leaving for his appointment at the clinic.

 

The rest of that week passed by uneventfully.  Johnny continued to drive Trevor to and from school each day, while I rode beside him in the passenger seat.  By Friday, I had no concerns about his ability to drive, and was prepared to tell his doctor that if Johnny needed me to.  Johnny was seen in various places around Eagle Harbor that week as well – the post office, the bank, the café, and at Trevor’s hockey and basketball games.  Every time we were in town he stopped at the fire station.  I could see the longing in his eyes to return to that part of his life.  I could see a drive there, an ambition to once again be Eagle Harbor’s Fire and Paramedic Chief, that had been lacking up until then.  Most of all, I could see his fear of failure was gone, and had been replaced by confidence and a calm sense of self-assuredness.

 

On Monday of the following week, Johnny kept Trevor out of school.  Since aneurysms are often hereditary, and given that was the cause of Johnny’s mother’s death, Doctor Webber felt it was important for Trevor to undergo an MRI.  Johnny had prepared Trevor for the procedure, assuring him it wouldn’t hurt, and that the worst part of it would be that he’d have to lay still in whatever position or positions the technician requested of him.

 

We left for Juneau right after breakfast, catching the nine o’clock ferry that would take us across the expanse of the Pacific Ocean that separated Eagle Harbor from the mainland of Alaska.  Two of the ferries serving Eagle Harbor ran only during the height of tourist season, from May through September, and weren’t big enough for vehicles to board.  The remaining two ferries were four times the size of the ones used for tourists, and could hold all the cars and passengers necessary to get people to the mainland for shopping excursions, jobs, and medical appointments at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

 

            By one o’clock, we were done at the hospital.  Johnny and I had to remain in a waiting area while Trevor underwent the MRI.  When Trev was finished and had rejoined us, he reported the procedure was a, “Piece of cake,” and didn’t seem concerned about what the results might be.  Whether he was just being strong for his father’s sake, or whether he was displaying the typical teenage attitude that he was invincible and couldn’t possibly suffer from anything life threatening, I wasn’t sure.  I was glad, however, to see him at ease and not upset over it.  Johnny was told it would be a day or two before the doctor called him with the results.  If an aneurysm were found then a decision would have to be made regarding when surgery was done to correct it.  I knew that possibility had Johnny worried, but he hid his concerns from Trevor and treated us to lunch.  After the meal, Johnny drove us to the dock where we boarded the ferry that took us back to Eagle Harbor.

 

            We arrived home at four-thirty that afternoon.  Trevor and Johnny did chores, while I warmed up leftovers for supper.  By six, we’d eaten and had the kitchen cleaned up.  Johnny sent Trevor upstairs to do the homework assignments he’d collected from his teachers on Friday for this missed day of school. Trev had just shut the door to his room when the phone rang.  Johnny picked it up.  From his side of the conversation I knew he was talking to Carl, but didn’t hang around and eavesdrop.  I went to the great room, took the newspaper out of the rack next to Johnny’s chair, sat in the recliner that had become mine during my stay, and started reading.

 

            Johnny entered the room a few minutes later.  I glanced up, seeing a cross of anticipation and apprehension on his face.

 

            “Everything okay?”

 

            He sat in his chair before answering me.

 

            “That was Carl.”

 

            “I thought so.”

           

            “He…um…police and fire-the police and fire ‘mission wanna meet with me at seven on Friday night.  They wanna…Ellison is calling for a vote.”

 

            “About whether or not you can keep your job?”

 

            “Yeah.”

 

            “What are you gonna do?”

            “Tell ‘em truth-the truth.  I want my job.  I can do my job.  I juz’ nee-need little more time.  Just a couple more months.”

 

            I nodded. I didn’t think Johnny was being unrealistic.  It had now been eleven weeks since he’d collapsed at the fire station.  If Ellison wanted Johnny back to work exactly at week twelve…well, Johnny wasn’t quite ready for that. At least not on a full time basis.  But if the members of the commission were willing to give him just a little more time, then I thought it was a strong possibility that he’d be ready to return to work in late May or early June.

 

            “When are you going to tell Trevor?”

 

            “Not until af’er-after school on Friday.  No point…there’s no point in telling sooner-him sooner.  He’ll just worry.”

 

            I agreed with Johnny regarding that decision. Friday would come around quickly enough as it was. 

 

            Johnny ended the conversation then by turning on the television.  The upcoming meeting wasn’t mentioned again that evening.  The next day Johnny drove Trevor to school, ran a few errands in town, went to physical therapy, and stopped by the fire station.  When we got home, he called his neurosurgeon’s office.  An hour later, the doctor called him back.  Johnny explained what was happening in regards to his job.  Doctor Webber promised to fax a document to Carl stating that in his medical opinion Johnny would be able to perform his job to full capacity in approximately two months time.  While they were on the phone, the doctor also told Johnny he’d seen the results of Trevor’s MRI, and that everything looked good. 

 

            “He said when Trev’s gro--grown and out on his own, he’ll need to make his doc’or aware of his family history.  Maybe follow-up MRI’s should be done ever-every few years as he ages, but for now, things good-things are good.”

 

            “That’s great news,” I said as we sat together at the table eating a late lunch of chicken salad sandwiches.

 

            “Yeah, it is.  Maybe that be--that’ll be my lucky charm this week.”

 

            “Maybe,” I agreed, willing to allow him to hold onto whatever luck he needed to that would help him get through until Friday.

 

            After we’d eaten, Johnny made one more phone call.  He reached Clarice at Renee’s house.  The elderly man was doing better, and in Carl’s opinion, didn’t need Clarice at his home on a daily basis any longer.

 

            “He just wants the company,” Carl had told me when we were at the station earlier that day and I’d asked about his uncle.  “He knows you’re here, Roy, and that frees up Mom since she doesn’t have to work for John.  Uncle Renee’ will take full advantage of that for as long as he can.”

 

            Hearing that didn’t bother me any.  If my presence in Johnny’s home allowed a lonely old man to be a little less lonely for a few weeks, then I was happy.

 

            As I put the dishes in the dishwasher, I heard Johnny ask Clarice if she could come by the house about six-thirty on Friday evening and stay with Trevor until we got home from the meeting.  I hadn’t been aware I was going to the meeting with him, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.  Since Carl was a voting member of the commission, it would put him in an uncomfortable position if he were the one to pick Johnny up and drive him to the station.  And though Johnny was now driving the Land Rover, technically speaking his doctor had yet to release him to be behind the wheel, which was why he probably thought it was smart to continue to have me as a passenger.  I also suspected he wanted what he couldn’t voice – a friend available for whatever support he needed on the ride home should the vote not to go in his favor.

 

            “Or I could bring him to Renee’s,” Johnny said to Clarice.  “Whate’er you want.  I know he’s old ‘nough be here alone for a while, but not on that night.  I don’--don’t want him here alone that night.”

 

            Johnny didn’t give Clarice any more of an explanation than that.  There was no doubt she knew what was going on. She told him that we didn’t need to bring Trevor to Renee’s.  By that time in the evening, Renee’ was now capable of being by himself. If he fussed about it, she’d get one of her sisters to stay with him.

 

            After Johnny had gotten off the phone and told me what Clarice said, I gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. 

 

            “You’ve done a good job of handling everything this week.”

 

            He looked at me with a puzzled expression.

 

            “Trevor’s MRI.  The news Carl gave you about the meeting.  Getting a hold of your doctor and finding out what he could provide that might help you.  Making arrangements for Clarice to come here on Friday night.  I guess what I’m trying to say is, you’re doing a good job of running your household again.”

 

            “With you help--your help.”

 

            “I’m not doing much of anything any more except putting on weight Joanne’s gonna have a fit about when she gets her first look at me.”

 

            Johnny chuckled.  “Tell her call me.  I’ll vow--vow--vouch for how hard you’ve been working.”

 

            We played cards for a while after that, then it was time to do chores, start supper, and pick Trevor up from hockey practice.  Johnny told Trevor the results of his MRI while we ate.  Trev’s face lit up, leading me to conclude he’d been more worried than he’d let one.

 

            “That’s good news, huh, Pops?”

 

            Johnny pulled the boy to him in a sideways hug. “You bet it is.”

 

            After we’d eaten, Trevor went upstairs to do his homework while Johnny and I played poker.  As I watched him concentrate on his cards and plan his strategy, I couldn’t help but think how far he’d come during the past six weeks.  I hated the thought of Tim Ellison taking all that away from him, and I hated the thought of how that might affect him. How it had the potential to wipe out all he’d accomplished with one swift blow. How it had the potential to crush the recent desire he’d found to participate in life again, rather than just sit in his house and watch the world go by around him. 

 

Just ten days earlier I’d told Joanne that I was sure Johnny would be all right. But with the commission meeting looming ahead of us, I was beginning to wonder if I’d be proven wrong.

 

Chapter 56

 

            I heard the conference room door open, and then close.  I was in Johnny’s office, waiting as the Police and Fire Commission meeting convened down the hallway.  I watched over my shoulder. Johnny entered the office and quietly shut the door.  He walked to the chair behind his desk and sat down. 

 

            By the expression on his face, I tried to guess what had gone on in that room for the last thirty minutes. Unfortunately, he kept his features schooled in the same neutral mask he’d been wearing ever since we’d left home.

 

            I remained silent, letting him decide when he was ready to talk.  A minute passed before he looked at me.

 

            “I don’t know.”

 

            “You don’t know what?”

 

            “Don’t know what they’ll dee-decide. I did my best.”

 

            “That’s all you can do.”

 

            “I know.  I’m juz--just ‘fraid I waited too long.  Did too little too late, as express…the expression goes.”

 

            “Look, no one can put themselves in your place. No one can know how he’d feel, how he’d handle it, if he went through what you have this winter.  Don’t be so hard on yourself, Johnny.”

 

            “Should have been harder on ‘self--myself sooner.  Worked harder to get better.”

 

            I’d been afraid there would come a time when he’d regret those first few weeks after he was home from the hospital, when he refused to talk, or do his physical therapy, or be seen in public.  But I’d never thought those regrets would center around someone taking his job away from him.  I thought they’d center around Johnny himself not caring enough to recover and then return to his job. I thought they’d center around his lack of interest in Trevor’s activities, and in life in general.  I’d always thought Johnny was in complete control of his destiny. I’d never considered the possibility that someone would take that control away from him like Ellison was doing now.  And I’d certainly never considered it once Johnny’s determination to recover finally set in.

 

            As I studied Johnny, I could see he’d never considered it either. He sat silently berating himself for what he deemed his foolish pride.  I didn’t know what to say other than what I already had.  None of us can predict how we’d react to a situation like he’d been through.  All the while I was telling him what he had to do in order to get better, I was well aware that had our positions been reversed, I might have suffered from the same depression, despondency, and lack of motivation that he did.

 

            That was water under the bridge, though.  Johnny’d gotten past it, and I continued to hope that whatever the commission decided, he’d somehow be able to accept the outcome of their vote and go forward with his life, rather than wallowing in thoughts of what “used to be” while growing angry and bitter over all that was taken from him.

 

            We sat in silence, Johnny’s eyes flicking around the office.  He seemed to be absorbing everything in the room, as though he was memorizing the layout in the event he was never here again. The pictures of Trevor and my family members that sat on his bookshelves. The paramedic and firefighting manuals on those same shelves.  The bronze baby shoes of Trevor’s on one corner of his credenza, flanked on the other corner by another pair of bronze baby shoes that only a very few people, like myself and Carl, knew had belonged to Johnny’s long deceased daughter Jessie.  The plaques and certificates hanging on the wall to the right of his desk, that he’d been awarded over the years for service to the community of Eagle Harbor. And then the crayon drawings framed and grouped together on the wall across from his desk, made by a little boy as he progressed from kindergarten, to first grade, to second grade, and so on. 

 

            Other than an occasional murmur of voices coming from the dayroom where on-duty police and fire personnel had gathered, silence prevailed in Johnny’s office.  He wasn’t in the mood to talk, and I wouldn’t have known what to say even if he had been.  Neither of us wanted to shoot the bull about stuff that didn’t matter, and we’d done all the talking we could about the stuff that did. Nothing either one of us said now would change what was happening in that conference room down the hall.

 

            It was quarter after eight when I heard the squeak of the conference room door opening.  Heavy footsteps resounded down the hall, stopping in front of Johnny’s office.  Whoever it was hesitated before entering.  I’d turned in my chair to stare at the door, and knew Johnny was staring at it too. A few more seconds passed before Carl came in.  He wouldn’t look at either one of us as he closed the door behind him.  Again, he hesitated a moment, then finally headed for the chair next to mine.  He sat down, his bulk barely fitting into the frame not made for a man of his height and width.

 

            I don’t know if Carl would have managed to vocalize anything that night had Johnny not prompted him with, “Carl?”

 

            The man closed his eyes a brief second.  When he opened them, he glanced at me before finally focusing on Johnny.

 

            “I…John….I’m sorry.  I’m so damn sorry.  The vote…it was six to five.”

 

            Johnny didn’t ask six to five what. He knew.  Including himself, there were twelve members on the Police and Fire Commission. In this situation, he was excluded from voting.  That meant of the remaining members, six had voted against him keeping his job, and five had voted for him keeping it.   

 

            Johnny momentarily acted as though he’d had the wind knocked out of him, but recovered quickly.  I was as sure as I could be that he’d been preparing himself for this –  preparing for how he’d react if Carl brought him the news he’d just delivered.

 

            “It’s okay,” Johnny said in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. “It’s okay.”

           

            “No it’s not okay dammit!  It’s not okay, and don’t sit there and think this is where it’s gonna end.  Phil and I’ve been talking for days about what we’d do if this was the outcome. He’s already got a petition made.  We’ll start circulating it around town first thing in the morning.   We’ll get every signature we can, then present it to the commission and--”

 

            “No.”

            “What?”

 

            “I say--said no.”

 

            “But why?”

            “It’ll tear this town part-apart, Carl.  I won’t do that.  I don’t want that to happen.”

 

            “John, the people of this town are your friends.  They think the sun rises and sets on you.  You turned this fire department around.  You took a department that was on the brink of extinction because of years of poor management, and turned it into the best fire department in this state.”

 

            “My answer still--is still no.”

 

            “John…”

 

            “No.”

 

            Carl pleaded his case to me.  “Roy, talk some sense into him. Phil and I can change this. I know we can.”

 

            I glanced from Carl to Johnny.  When all Johnny did was shake his head, I had no choice but to say to the police chief, “It’s Johnny’s decision.  You have to respect that.”

 

            Carl pounded a thick fist on the chair’s arm.  “Damn that bastard Ellison.”

 

            “Don--don’t.”

 

            “Don’t what?  Hate the asshole who just convinced five men that the fire department could face a million dollar lawsuit if they didn’t abide by medical leave act.”

 

            “Who was gonna sue the fire department?” I asked.

 

            “Ellison!  Only he didn’t put it that way.  He said he’d have to do this on ‘behalf of the department and the town of Eagle Harbor’ because that’d be what’s best.  He said something about rules are rules.” Carl looked at Johnny again.  “I know the men who voted no didn’t want to, John.  I know they didn’t.  He’s got ‘em running scared because of this lawsuit shit he keeps throwing around.  You don’t have an enemy on that commission.  You never have.”

 

            “ ‘Cept Ellison looks like.”

 

            “Ah, he’s too fuckin’ stupid to even have the brains to be your enemy.  Once the votes were counted, he started yacking about some guy he knows back in Chicago who would make a great chief.  He wants us to set up an interview with him.”