Survivors (32 page)
Authors: Rich Goldhaber
proud at our wedding.”
Jasmine said, “We need to drive to the AhTah-Ki Museum to get the rest of the things for the
ceremony.”
We packed up all of their special memories
and then drove over to the Seminole Indian Museum. The two kids walked us through the museum
that was in fact a history of their tribe. We finally
came to an exhibit Jasmine said showed the sacred
wedding ceremony. There was a ceremonial fire in
the center of a circle of people. Hunter said, “The
bride and groom walk around the fire and stop
seven times to exchange gifts representing their
vows to each other.”
Together, we collected all of the sacred ceremonial items and placed them carefully in the
back of the van. We would return them to the museum after the wedding.
Now it was time to head back to the campus, and the kids taught us a special chant we
would sing as we walked around the fire. At first it
seemed strange we had agreed to have an Indian
wedding ceremony, but the more I thought about
it, the more I realized how important this would be
to our foster children.
Back at the campus we found Paul, Mary,
Phyllis and Doctor Fleming taking a break. Baby
Richard was doing fine and Margaret had decided
to spend the day sitting in a chair near her bed.
Ray said, “Your people have done a wonderful job
here. I’m excited about the animal surgery; it’s the
right approach to practicing for the real thing.”
Mary said, “While Ray’s here, he’s agreed to
give a lecture each day to our oldest students and
anyone else who wants to attend on a variety of
medical topics.”
Jessie said, “That’s wonderful Ray. Why
don’t you go AWOL and stay here? Mary and the
team are doing great things, but we sure could use
a real doctor.”
Ray Fleming’s expression turned into a
mischievous grin, “You know Jessie, I just might
do that.”
I changed the topic of discussion. “Paul,
can Jessie and I spend a couple of minutes with
you?”
Paul excused himself, and the three of us
sat down at a nearby table. I started, “It’s about
our upcoming wedding Paul. When Hunter and
Jasmine moved in, I reinforced how important it
was for them to never forget their Indian heritage.
They’re very excited about our wedding and convinced us to do an Indian ceremony. Today we visited their reservation and picked up some sacred
objects to use as part of the service.”
can I do to help?”
Jessie continued. “Talk to the kids, and
they’ll explain the ceremony.”
Paul asked, “What else do you want in the
service? Will there be a religious theme?”
Jessie looked at me and I deferred to her.
“Not too long Paul; just enough to make it official
and give the community an enjoyable experience.”
“Good, leave it to me; I’ll keep it simple and
short, but I will add a few words to send the married couple on their new path.”
Jessie gave him a peck on the cheek.
“You’re the perfect person for this job Paul, absolutely perfect.”
would indeed do a great job.
It was much too early for dinner, but Beth
appeared in the dining area, and seeing us at a table, she sat down next to Jessie. “I know we said
we’d meet after dinner, but I’ve got you here now,
and I have a few minutes. Let’s talk about the
wedding. What do you want served?”
Jessie and I were feeling uncomfortable, but
I left it to Jessie to speak for the two of us. “Beth,
how can you possibly serve dinner to so many people?”
Beth smiled and answered, “We’ll have to
do a buffet. I’ve already talked to the people at the
farm and in Immokalee. We’ve got plenty of vegetables to choose from, and for the main course we
can do a whole variety of things.”
Jessie thought for a moment and said,
“Beth, surprise us; do what you think works best
for you and your staff. Do what you want to do.”
Beth said, “I recommend a group of carving
stations. That would be pretty easy and all the
guests would have their choice of a variety of
things. That way, even the kids could find something they like. When is this going to happen?”
“Monday works for us. How about dinner at
six o’clock?”
Paul added, “Let’s do the service on the
beach at four o’clock.”
“Good,” I said, “It’s all settled.”
Paul and Beth left and Manny immediately
took their place. He had a very serious look on his
face. “Jessie, I have a very special favor to ask of
you.”
He stopped and looked at Jessie, waiting for
a response. She smiled and said, “What can I do
for you Manny?”
“I don’t think I ever told you, but I had a
twenty-three year old daughter who died in the
pandemic. She was going to be married in a few
months and then she was gone. You remind me so
much of her. You would do me a great honor if you
would allow me to walk you down the aisle. I would
like to give up the bride.”
We all were crying now. Jessie, with tears
flowing down her cheeks hugged Manny and said,
“Oh Manny, It would mean more to me than you
know if you would walk me down the aisle. I would
be honored if you would give me to Jim.”
Manny thanked us both and then left. It
was just Jessie and me alone at the table. I looked
into her eyes. She looked beautiful today. “You
know, none of us talk much about the loved ones
we lost. A psychiatrist I’m sure could explain why,
but all of us have kept those feelings for lost ones
private. Jessie, we need to remember the people
who were lost. Maybe we should have a remembrance service for everyone who died. I’ll talk to
Paul. He’s the perfect person to organize it.”
As I looked around the dining area, I realized most everyone seemed to be staring at us. I
guess we had become the local curiosity. What
were these people thinking? Were they surprised
about our announcement? Were they thinking of
loved ones who had died and wishing they could
find a new partner?
hours before dinner. What do you want to do?”
“Let’s go to the beach.”
It was a Saturday and the kids were running all along the beach and swimming in the lake.
We set up our lounge chairs a few feet outside of
my apartment with a pitcher of ice water. Fifty
yards away Major Connors and Captain Sanchez
were relaxing in the sun. I called out their names
and motioned for them to join us. They moved their
chairs close to ours. “Where did you get the swimming suits?” I asked.
Arnie answered, “They have dozens of them
just sitting out in a tiki hut near the kitchen. I just
got a call from Lieutenant Monroe. They raided the
terrorist camp out there, and all but a few stragglers were killed. The rest ran off, and he’s guessing they headed north to more secure areas. Private Duncan confirmed a group of about a dozen
cars was headed north toward San Francisco.
Their team will be flying back here tomorrow.”
I said, “So it looks like they’ll make it back
here before our little group of misfits decides to
attack.”
Arnie continued, “And speaking of the
pending attack, Private Duncan spotted two cars
heading our way during the night. I’m guessing
they’ve sent out some scouts to provide up to the
minute recon intelligence.”
that?”
Arnie answered, “Nothing Jessie. Let them
scout our area. I want them to think we’re unprepared. I’m sure they don’t know we’re watching
them with our birds up in the sky.”
attack us?” I asked.
Arnie answered, “Since they’re at Fort Gordon, I’m assuming they have some people who’ve
had formal military training. The head of their
group may even be a soldier. Ed and I have been
talking about it. We think they’ll do what all good
commanders do, they’ll concentrate their forces at
the point of attack.”
Arnie answered, “They’ll undoubtedly have
a couple dozen Bradley M2 Fighting Vehicles.
They’ll lead the advance with those. Private Duncan has spotted activity at the fort. They’re attaching machine guns on the back of trucks. They
probably have all the night vison equipment they
need, so I’m guessing they’ll attack at night. I think
they’ll use the M2s to attack from the east. The terrain isn’t ideal for the converted trucks, so they’ll
use those to attack from the main entrance to
clean up after the M2s have created havoc. They’ll
think the night vision equipment will give them the
advantage, but they’ll be wrong.”
Captain Sanchez answered, “We’re working
on it. Arnie’s going to show me his armory tomorrow, and as soon as Lieutenant Monroe returns,
we’ll have a war council. Want to join us?”
wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
The four of us sat there enjoying a quiet
Saturday afternoon. Captain Sanchez finally said,
“You know, all of us may still come down with the
disease. We’ll know in about two months. I’d like
your permission to stay here until we know one
way or the other. If we’re all going to die, I’d rather
it was among all of you who can give us a decent
burial.”
can I get you guys a cold beer?”
Sanchez asked, “Where did you get the
brew?”
I answered, “Our people located a major
distributor for all of southwest Florida.”
We spent another hour listening to Captain
Sanchez explain in detail the odyssey of the good
ship USS Jimmy Carter. It was much as we surmised; a few groups of survivors living outside of
major cities trying to eke out a living by rummaging through vacant stores and homes, fishing in
the sea, and growing produce on the land. The
country had regressed to a rural agrarian society.
The kids, who had been swimming and
playing beach volleyball with a half-dozen others,
finally arrived at our side, and their arrival forced a
change in topics. Hunter said, “Chaplin Paul talked
to us about the special ceremony. We’re going to
practice tomorrow.”
Hunter answered, “No, we’ll have everything
set up for the ceremony on Monday. We already
explained it all to both of you. You’ll do just fine.”
The kids ran off to start another game and
Jessie and I had to explain things to Major Connor
and Captain Sanchez. Arnie asked, “Have you
picked out a dress yet?”
Jessie suddenly realized she had nothing to
wear. “Jim, come on, let’s have an early dinner,
and then we can drive into downtown Naples. I
know where the store is with all the bridal gowns.”
Jessie stuck out her tongue and led me
away from the evil comments of our friends. At
dinner Beth insisted the best seamstress, Sally Logan, join us for the last minute alterations that always need to be made.
So here we were, Jessie, Sally and yours
truly driving down to Fifth Avenue to the bridal
shop just off Third Street. I was told by both ladies
a tuxedo was also on the agenda, and I was beginning to feel totally out of control, which of course
was the situation, but I was committed to being a
good sport and doing whatever Jessie wanted done.
The store had been without air-conditioning
for many months and the girls were afraid mold
might have set in and ruined the selection, but we
were lucky. All of the gowns were sealed in special
garment bags.
As it turned out, Jessie was a perfect size
for a gown, or to be more precise, a size 4. She
soon began trying on an assortment of dresses, all
with price tags of over $10,000. An hour later she
had narrowed the choice down to three. My inputs
ended at this point, and Sally’s opinion dominated
the selection process.
And then it was over. The dress she chose,
which was absolutely stunning, only required the
adjustment of a hem and a little tuck under the
arms. Next we stopped at Jared’s Jewelry Store
and an hour later we had picked out wedding
bands and a beautiful three carat diamond engagement ring. The tag on the ring read $39,995,
but Jessie deserved the best.
The final stop was at a men’s formalwear
store in a strip mall on Route 41. Jessie and Sally
thought basic black would work well with Jessie’s
dress, and thirty minutes later I was measured up
by Sally, and we headed back home. Sally said,
“I’m going to come back down here next week and
move all of the dresses and tuxedos to an airconditioned apartment in our community. That
should allow us to keep them in good condition for
the next wedding.”
I dropped Sally off at her apartment with
sincere thanks from Jessie and me, and she promised to deliver the alterations by the end of the day
tomorrow. Jessie was in a great mood as we arrived home just in time to tuck the kids in for the
night. It had been a very long day.
Sammy Lafayette flew the four of us over to
MacDill Air Force Base just after breakfast. Arnie
and Ed were not about to miss out on blueberry
pancakes. Our first stop was to drop in on Private
Adrian Duncan. He had a helper now, an older civilian guy about seventy who clearly knew how to
operate most of the equipment in the Threat Assessment Center.
Adrian had stored a number of key images
on his computer, and he made a one-hour presentation about a variety of activities taking place at
Fort Gordon. He was certain a buildup of men and
equipment was taking place. Several close-up pictures showed a dozen Bradley M2 Fighting Vehicles
being prepped in the base’s main parking lot, and
there were about forty trucks being modified to accommodate machine guns on the back. Adrian had
been doing a headcount at the base, and he estimated there were over 400 people milling around;
and he had observed other groups of cars driving
along highways leading to the base.