Epilogue
Three Months Later
King
Itold the girl I don’t dance. Did she listen? Of course not. She’s taken it upon herself to turn my arena in Wisconsin into a dance floor. Gary gives us the thumbs-up from the DJ booth, and I just scrub my hands down my face.
Kenny takes off from Jim’s shoulder as feedback squeals through the speakers. Jim takes off after the bird. Gary winces and cuts the volume, then shrugs his shoulders.
“I can’t remember the steps,” I say to Josie as she plants her hands on her hips.
She stands on tiptoe in her boots and kisses me. “That’s okay, Cowboy Cocksure. It’ll give your kids a laugh to see you look stupid.”
I roll my eyes and look down at the dance floor. It’s made of glass, so we can clearly see the Cattle positioned on their backs on the ground beneath it. It’s locked in place right now, but controls in the DJ booth allow it to move on the Cattle each time we stomp on the thick glass.
And we will be stomping. This line dance demands it.
Chef Maurice steps into the arena and takes a look around. I never would have pegged him as a dancer, but the moment Josie mentioned line dancing, his eyes lit up.
I wave him over as Josie wanders off to check on the sound issues.
“How are you enjoying your new station, old chap?”
He shrugs. “Cooking for the cannibals is fun, but I miss the trips. Don’t tell Jim I said that.”
Like most things, Jim lost interest in planning the retreats once the reason for them came to its natural conclusion. We all see each other regularly, and we still get together for kills, but it’s not the same.
I won’t let on how much I’ll miss it, though.
Josie returns from Gary’s booth, a frown on her face. “Everyone will be here in less than an hour, and nothing is going like it’s supposed to.”
“It rarely does,” Maurice says as he wanders off.
I take Josie’s shoulders in my hands and give them a rub. “There now, my beauty. No one expects perfection. After all, if they can forgive me for what I’ve done and what I’ve missed, I’m sure they can forgive you for making them dance to music played from a small portable speaker.”
“I know. I just want it to be perfect.”
“Perfection rarely breeds any sort of real joy. Look at the road we’ve traveled to get here. This journey has been paved with potholes, but the end result?”
She finally smiles. “Yeah. Pretty perfect.”
I lick my lips. My hand goes to my pocket. “I planned to wait until the children arrived, but . . .”
Before I can pull the little box from inside, the sound of metal moving against metal breaks the quiet. The floor collapses, crushing thirty Cattle beneath our feet. Hidden beds of spikes jut upward and send a river of red running through the glass.
“Oh no!” Josie cries. “That was supposed to be the grand finale!”
“Sorry!” Gary yells. “I pressed the wrong button!”
Before she can start to cry, I snatch the box from my pocket and wiggle it in front of her nose. It works like smelling salts, and her eyes go wide.
But instead of looking happy or overwhelmed with joy, she grabs my hand and pushes it down.
“What are you doing?” she whispers. “The kids aren’t here yet. Put it away.”
I shove the box back into my pocket. “You knew?”
Josie folds her arms over her chest and cocks her hip. “Ears like satellites, remember? I heard you talking to Jim about it a few weeks ago. And you aren’t robbing them of this moment.”
Well, that sucks some of the wind out of my sails, but she puts it right back when she mentions wanting the children there for this. Their relationships have been strange but beautiful. She’s become close with all of them.
“Can I at least know your answer?” I say. “You’ve had plenty of time to think about it.”
Josie places her fingers to her chin, thinking. “Tell you what. Let’s make a bet. If I don’t say yes, you have to keep asking until I do.”
My eyebrow rises. “And if you do say yes?”
“Then you have to love me for the rest of my life.”
I bend down and kiss her. This is one bet I won’t have a problem winning.
The End