Chapter 9 #2
“Marcia knows you’re here. Erin sent the text about the family BBQ, and she questioned me.
I let it slip that you were here and the picnic was for you and Dr. Hardt.
It took some time to convince her not to rush over here and see you.
I made her promise not to until I had a chance to speak with you first. Not that I’m keeping the two of you apart, but I thought after seeing you when your first arrived, I didn’t know how long it would take you to recover from the trip. ”
“I don’t think you’re trying to keep us apart, Lloyd, and I thank you for allowing me to rest up before I see Marcia. Don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way, but I love Marcia, and I know how intense she can be. Thank you for keeping her at bay for me.”
“Not a problem, now that the cat’s out of the bag, she’s all yours,” Lloyd laughed and slapped him on the upper arm. “But not literally.”
“I know, it will be great seeing her again. The last time I saw her, she stopped by my place to tell me she was coming here. I had just had my third or fourth operation a couple of months before that, and I was up and moving, but not very well.”
“Damn, it’s been that long? She’s going to shit when she sees you. I can see an improvement in you since you arrived four days ago.”
“Thank you, I feel great. I saw Caleb today and he gave me exercises to loosen my muscles before I go to bed, and when I get up in the morning.” He decided to wait to tell him what he had been experiencing until he met Marcia later that night.
They parted ways, Tony went home, showered, and because he’d only eaten one of the steaks out of his last package, he cooked that along with a baked potato.
He laughed as he opened the pantry door and pulled out a can of peas to go with his meal.
He had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.
He turned, braced himself against the counter, and called out, “Come in!” the door opened, and in walked Marcia Ramos, his best friend, his younger, older sister, and former confidante.
He stood there and watched her look around wildly and when she spotted him, she froze.
“Holy shit, you look better than the last time I saw you.”
“Thanks, I think,” he said as he came away from the counter, and nodded to Lloyd as he entered and closed the door behind him.
When he received the nod in return, Tony opened his arms and grinned.
“Where’s my hug?” He didn’t have to wait long before she was across the room and instead of slamming into him, she eased into his embrace gently, then hugged him tightly.
They stood like that for a good three minutes and when she looked at him, he reached up and wiped her tears.
“I’m okay, Ramos, I really am.” He didn’t know what to do, and Lloyd was suddenly there. Tony turned her toward him, and he took her and soothed her. It took a few minutes, but when she was under control, she turned to Tony, wiping her tears.
“Sorry, it’s just been so long since I saw you.”
“I know,” Tony said as he took his seat at the table and pointed to the others, they settled down, and actually turned down his offer for something to drink.
“We’re not here for long,” Marcia said. “I had to see you. I’ll admit I was pissed at Lloyd when I found out you were here and he hadn’t told me, but when he explained how exhausted you were when you arrived, I said I wouldn’t forgive him until I saw you with my own eyes.”
“Do you forgive him now?”
“Yes, you look good for what you’ve been through. How rough was the trip out?”
“Rough, I ended up getting a rental truck and towing my own truck behind it. I didn’t know what I would need, and I’m glad there is living room furniture here. Shay was a big help in getting me packed up.”
“What happened to yours?”
“Don’t you remember? Mom and Dad sold it and brought that damn hospital bed in. They set up my living room like it was a hospital room.” He shook his head as he remembered what had happened back then.
“How are they?”
“No clue, they all moved out of state while I was recovering from my seventh surgery. In case I didn’t tell you, I’ve had a total of nine since we were rescued off the side of that mountain.
When I got a clean bill of health, I had to try to pass my Guard physical, because I failed or had low counts on the rope climbing, I was issued a full medical discharge.
As soon as I received that, that’s when I contacted you to see if there was a position here for me. The rest is history.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Are you working with Caleb?”
“I am,” Tony said with a nod, and told both of them about the difference of his stiffness now compared to what he endured back home. What he was doing for work, and how good it made him feel at the end of the day.
Marcia hung on his every word, and was able to see how much truth there was to his words, then she sat up quickly and grinned at him.
“What?”
“Are you dating anyone back home that might be joining you later?”
“Nope, it took all my energy to get better after each operation, I didn’t have time to try and find someone to date. However, since coming here, there is someone I’m interested in.”
“Who? All the women I know are hooked up with someone.”
“Staci.”
“Who’s that?”
“Dr. Hardt,” Lloyd said with a grin. At her confused look, Tony told her why she was there, and then Marcia seemed to remember that she was coming.
“Oh, wow.” She didn’t know what else to say, then laughed. “I guess I’ll have to grill her at the BBQ on Sunday. What are you bringing?”
“Nothing, Erin said that Staci and I didn’t have to since we were the guests of honor.”
“That makes sense, when we had these in the past, the new arrival didn’t have to bring anything until the next one.”
“How often do you have these?”
“Holidays, you know, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Before all the men started to arrive, us women would meet at the main house once a month and only two of us would cook for everyone. That was back when there was only six of us. When the men arrived, we did the same until there wasn’t room anymore, so we would have the get togethers at the big cabins over on Broken.
This past summer, when Ryan and Pru got married, Erin was able to convert one of her barns into the meeting place.
It worked out well, and there is room for everyone.
” She looked at him with a grin. “It helps regulate the weather, you know? No rain to deal with, or the wind and snow.”
“How many people are we talking about?”
“Roughly thirty people. Maybe thirty-five,” Lloyd said. “It depends if all of the employees of Erin’s Way come or just the three guys. If they all come, then it’s closer to fifty.”
“Is there a reason why they might not come?”
“The holidays Marcia named, they are with their own families, since none of us men have any family except for our girlfriends, we have a get together for everyone at least every few weeks just so we can catch up with everyone.”
“That sounds wonderful, and I can’t wait to meet the women. I met the guys when they came here to help me unload my rental, and earlier today when I helped carry the meat into the community pantry.”
They sat around and talked for another hour before Marcia said she should let him get his rest, and when she hugged him before she left, it was a side hug, and he thought he saw relief in Lloyd’s eyes.
The men shook hands, and it wasn’t long before Tony found he felt at ease after seeing his best friend again, and when he fell asleep, his dreams were full of a different woman.
One he couldn’t wait to teach to cook again.