After filling out an application for a job that was well beyond my qualifications, I stomped through the empty parking lot cursing and tugging at my collar. “Ughhh! how can people wear this crap everyday!”

When I reached my truck I grabbed the door handle and it burned my hand. Ahhh fuck!” I opened the door and was enveloped in stifling heat of an oven. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I sat in the hot interior of my truck. I rolled the windows down and unbuttoned my dress shirt. “I ain’t doing this again. I feel like a clown in these clothes!” I said jerking the shirt off and wadding it into a ball on the passenger seat. The dismal job market and my lack of experience was discouraging. There was a knot in the pit of my stomach from the anxiety I felt over being unemployed.

I sulked back to Ben’s place to get stoned and wallow in self pity. I could count on Ben for advice and a hug. Once I pulled up into Ben’s driveway, I kicked off my dress shoes and socks and walked shirtless and barefoot towards his front door.

Ben came to the door naked and handed me a cherry popsicle. “Looks like you had a crappy day,” said Ben.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. Ben invited me in to get comfortable as he loaded up his bong. It was dark and cool inside Ben’s place. His old electric fan sat in front of the screen door blowing cool air on us. I plopped my ass down on his ratty sofa and he handed me the bong. I got pretty stoned and ranted on and on about how I would not able to pay my bills once the money ran out. Ben sat back in his rocking chair naked eating one popsicle after another, letting me vent my frustrations without judgement.

“So what happened in your garden yesterday? Suzanne seemed a bit upset,” said Ben.

“Not sure, I guess I had heat stroke. I had weird thoughts of having lived in the past. Suzanne said I acted all funny. I don’t remember much about it,” I said suddenly distracted.

The national news was broadcasting on his little TV. The commentator announced that president Bush was on vacation again.

“Damn, Bush is always on vacation. Doesn’t he ever work?” I said. “I wish I was working, but nobody seems to be hiring right now,” I said pumping my fist.

Ben took a big hit from his bong and passed it too me. “You know Travis, I could probably use some help around here getting this furniture order ready in time. You could help me cut, sand and varnish the pieces. I couldn’t pay you anything right now, but if you’re willing to wait until next month, I can pay you a few thousand bucks.”

“Really? Serious? I would totally do that,” I said with a smile.

“Only thing I require is that there’ll be no smoking pot while we’re working. It’s hard to get much done when I’m stoned. We can get stoned as much as we want when the work is over,” said Ben laughing, “Or maybe during breaks, or, oh hell, who am I kidding?” he snickered.

“When do you want me to start?”

“Come by early tomorrow morning. I have a lot of lumber I need to cut.”

I arrived at Ben’s house around 6am. Lumber was scattered all over his front lawn as Pink Floyd tunes played on his stereo. Ben walked out his front door carrying a plate full of egg sandwiches and a few extra pieces of bread.  His lean tanned body was bathed in sunlight.

“Howdy Travis. I hope you wore comfortable clothes. We’ll probably get pretty dirty.  He walked towards me, and looked up in the trees and cawed at the crows. A flock of crows answered and flew down from the trees and landed on the grass. He took the extra pieces of bread and tossed them towards the crows.

“Wow, I’m surprised the crows will get this close to you.”

“Yeah, well if you make friends with the crows, they’ll always remember your kindness.” He stuck out his hand and whistled. One of the crows flew up and perched on his wrist. “See, crows are way cool.” After the crows ate the bread, they flew off towards town.  “Here Travis, I made us some bacon and egg sandwiches.  Where’s Buddy?”

“I didn’t bring him. I thought he might get in the way.”

“Nah, Buddy’s never a problem for me. You should bring him next time.”

After we ate Ben said, “Well, guess now is a good time to start. It’s so cool having you help me Travis. I set up the saws and tools over there in the shade. It’s supposed to get hot today. I’m going to keep the music  blasting and there’s plenty of sodas, iced tea and popsicles ready whenever it gets too hot.”

“So what you want me to do?”

“Well I was thinking  maybe we should start cutting all the wood pieces. I already have them measured and marked. All we have to do right now is do some sawing.”

Ben had a large pile of wood of different sizes lying on his lawn. I held the wood in place as he sawed the different pieces and this took a few hours. It had gotten really hot and I decided to take my shirt off.

“So Ben where did you learn to make furniture like this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful. You’ve got animals and plants carved into every piece.”

“No one taught me, I love the beauty of wood and do my best to honor the life of the trees by making something beautiful with their wood. My father taught me a few things about building houses and constructing things, but his way was only functional. I wanted to make something functional as well as beautiful, so I guess I just started designing my own furniture and making wooden sculptures. Not many men can say that they really enjoy their work, but I really do.”

“So are you going to hand carve every single piece of wood here that we cut?”

”Nah, most of these pieces are braces, but I’ll carve some of them. Every single piece will be sanded and polished until they’re smooth as glass.”

After all the wood was cut, he asked me to plane the uneven and rough areas. He had me carefully measure each and every piece to make sure I didn’t take off too much wood. Most important of all, he insisted that when I plane or sand the wood, I should always go with the grain and never against it. Cutting against the fibers always looks bad.

Ben sat on the porch carving a piece of cherry wood. He was covered from head to toe in small wood chips. There were even pieces in his hair. He stood up and brushed them off his body. He saw that I was having problems. I told him that my hands were sore.  He assured me that the soreness would pass and that my hands would become strong from doing this sort of work. He stretched and shook the sawdust from his hair.

“How about some Cindy Lauper? I need something more lively,” he said walking indoors.

I heard footsteps coming towards us from the gravel road. A tall stout hillbilly with long stringy brown hair and long beard lumbered into his driveway.  I recognized that it was Bill, the guy Ben asked me to drive home one day. He stood in front of me, breathing heavy and asked if I’d seen Ben.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun started playing on his stereo as Ben walked out the door. “I guess it must be around lunchtime. Travis, we should probably take a lunch break. I have tuna and ham. Ben looked up and saw Bill standing behind me not saying a word. “How was your walk over here Bill? You ready for lunch?”

“Yeah, I want ham,”said Bill

“Be right back boys.” said Ben.

Bill looked at me and said, “Ben’s got a motorcycle. He said I can ride on it sometime.”

“Oh yeah? Have you rode on it yet?”

“Yeah, he let me ride on the back down the road…”

“So you like to walk a lot Bill?” I asked trying to find something to talk about.

“I’m gonna live in California someday.”

“Oh yeah? So what’s in California?”

“Pretty girls live in California.”

“So Bill, don’t they have pretty girls here in Kentucky?” I said, chuckling to myself.

“No!, They got surfing there.”

“Can you surf Bill?”

“No, but I could if I was in California.”

Ben walked out the door with the sandwiches. “He he. I see you got Bill all riled up with California. He can tell you lots about California, can’t you Bill? And wrestling too,” said Ben.

“Yeah, I went to see wrestling once. I saw, I saw Hulk Hogan there.”

“So you guys want a sandwich?” Ben said smiling and winking at me.

Bill took a sandwich and whispered to me, “Ben’s naked.”

I worked with Ben for nearly a week. The furniture was starting to take shape. Ben designed a very unique bedroom suite. He was creating a dresser with various animals and plants carved into the surface.  Leaves and twigs were carved into the handles of the drawers. A life-sized crow fitting a twig into a nest carved on the top. A hiding rabbit became part of a leg. A pack of raccoons reaching into a pond was carved into the headboard. There were frogs, dragonflies and even fish around the legs of the bed. It truly was a work of art. It was amazing to watch him carve the pieces of wood with such intensity and a smile.

The workdays were full of ritual. I arrived with Buddy each morning around six. Ben would come outside to welcome me and the crows. Bill would show up almost everyday around noon ,stay maybe an hour or so, and walk back home on the railroad tracks. After lunch we’d go down to the creek behind his house for an afternoon swim. Then he’d excuse himself and ask to be left alone as he sat in silence and meditated. I’d hang out on the porch with Buddy until he returned and was ready to work again. Ben was unlike anyone I’d ever met, and I loved him despite his quirks.

One day he was carving a fish for the bed frame and I heard a yelp. He cut his finger on the knife and bled on the wood. He jumped up and got a spray bottle of bleach that he always kept nearby. I asked him why he sprayed bleach and he said that the blood would stain the wood. I assured him that the blood stain would be covered by the varnish, but he was insistent upon using the bleach in a very serious tone. Later he apologized for being sharp with me.

I didn’t think much about it until the day I cut my finger and bled on one of the wood slats. I searched for the bleach, but Ben didn’t seem too concerned and just told me to wipe it up. I shot Ben a confused look.

“But I thought….Oh never mind.” When I said that, Ben shot up and brought me the bleach spray.

“Is this what you were looking for?”

“Oh yeah,” I said cocking my head and raising an eyebrow at Ben. There was this look that passed between us, a strange uneasiness. An unspoken something that we each felt best not to pursue, but it planted a seed of doubt in me. There was still so much about Ben that I didn’t know and part of me was afraid to ask.

During those hot days of July we worked long hours. My job was spent sanding and varnishing various pieces of wood while Ben busily carved out the various sculptured figurines that were part of the piece. There were nearly twenty two individual pieces ranging from beds and dressers, to tables, chairs and shelves. Everyday after work Ben would load up the bong and we’d get stoned watching TV. It was expected and part of our ritual. Later on at night, we’d take a dip in the creek. Buddy loved swimming as much as Ben. I was always a bit hesitant, but once in the water I would relax. I always trusted that Ben could save my life if I were to get into trouble.

                                    August 3

Things changed after one of our Friday night BBQs at my place. We invited my neighbors, Cody and Ethel and their granddaughter. Suzanne’s sister Cindy and her Boyfriend Arnie were also invited along with his younger brother Brent.

We finished work early and swam in the creek in celebration of the pagan midsummer festival Ben called Lughnasa. Afterwards, Ben donned jeans, t shirt, leather jacket and boots and hopped on his motorcycle. “See you at the store,” he said as he sped off down the road.

Buddy and I followed in the truck. There was a thick, humid haze and everything looked blue in the distance. We stopped by the the little grocery in Millersburg and picked up some stuff for the party. While we checking out I noticed the girl at the counter looking at Ben with lust in her eyes. He had that effect on women. No one could resist his deep blue eyes and charming voice. After leaving the store I said, “You’re such a flirt.”

“Whatever do you mean? I was just being nice,” he said trying to act innocent. “Nothing wrong with flirting, Travis. You should try it sometimes. People like compliments,” he said laughing and patting me on the shoulder. He put on his helmet and climbed on his bike. “See you at the farm.” He revved up his bike and sped off.

When I arrived at the farm, Arnie, Ben and little Stevie were sitting on the porch. Sam was shooting hoops in front of the barn with some guy I didn’t recognize. I opened the door and Buddy ran out to greet the kids.  I picked up the groceries and walked to the porch. Arnie told me about how he lost his glasses and searched for them all morning. Cindy found them in the cole slaw and thought Stevie put it in there. I walked to the kitchen to put away the groceries. Suzanne and Cindy were making hamburger patties.

“Oh cool, I was hoping you bought paper plates. I forgot to get them the other day.” said Suzanne.

“Yeah, I remembered at the last minute. I’m going to go take a shower and get dressed. I’ll get the fire going once I finish.”

As I was leaving, Suzanne whispered, “Is Ben here?” I nodded and smiled.

I was out by the fire pit building a fire as Ben and Arnie played badminton in the front yard. They didn’t seem to be keeping score, just hitting the birdie back and forth. Suzanne and Cindy sat in the porch swing watching Stevie. Hank rode his bike down the gravel road towards the house. He’d been out on one of his long bike rides. Suzanne told him to wash up because supper was almost ready. Hank rode past me, smiled and looked down as if trying to avoid a conversation. I said hi to him and he replied with a soft, “Hey”as he sped past me towards the shed where he kept his bike.

I finally got the briquettes to a white hot ash and placed catfish and hamburger patties on the grill. The heat from the fire made me sweat and I took my shirt off. A birdie landed on the grill. “Sorry bout that,” said Ben leaping past me plucking the shuttlecock from the flames. “Mmmmm something smells good.” He reached onto the grill and plucked off a piece of fish. “Yummy!” said Ben licking his fingers and running back to the game.

I was roasting corn on the cob and green beans on the grill, when Cody arrived. A big trail of dust followed his green Impala as it slowly drove towards the house. Suzanne and Cindy were putting a table cloth on the picnic table. The back door of the car opened and Bella jumped out and ran out towards the house yelling. She was in tears.

“What happened sweetie?”  said Suzanne.

“Mom, this mean raccoon tried to bite me!”

“What! Oh my goodness! When was this?”

“Just a few minutes ago!” she cried. Cody, Ethel and Connie got out of the car and walked briskly towards the house. Ben and Arnie stopped playing to listen to what Cody had to say.

“We was getting ready to come over when Ethel saw a raccoon acting strange on the edge of the porch. It ain’t like a raccoon to be out in daytime. I went in the house and got my rifle. I told Ethel to get inside, but Bella and Connie was in the backyard playing. Ethel hollered for the kids to come inside and that’s when Bella ran into the raccoon It saw her and chased her. She jumped up on the car and that’s when I shot it. It must have had rabies. Animals just don’t act like that.”

Everyone gathered round in awe. “I’m so glad nobody got hurt,” said Suzanne.

Ethel looked at me and said, “Dear, I hope Buddy got his rabies shots.”

“Yes Ma’am. Buddy got all his shots before I brought him home,” I said.

The raccoon was the big topic of the night for the next hour or so. The trauma of the incident was soon forgotten by badminton games that led well past sundown. After it was too dark to see, we got folding chairs and sat around the fire pit. The moon in the sky was almost full and lit up the field. I was creeped out by the thought of some rabid animal that could be lurking beyond the fire.

“Travis, tell us a story about the war,” said Sam who sat on the grass next to Brent.

“Nah, I don’t have anything you guys want to hear,” I said.

“Oh please. I would love to hear about Iraq,” said Cindy.

“What do you want to know?”

“What was it like,” said Sam eager to hear another story.

“Maybe Travis doesn’t want to talk about such things,” said Suzanne.

I looked around and all eyes were upon me, their faces lit by the fire, eager and waiting for me to speak. “Okay, you talked me into it. I was sent to fight in the Gulf War in the winter of 1991 as was part of the 82nd Airborne. We’d been training that previous summer in Saudi Arabia. It was dry and dusty and the bugs were terrible.

When winter came, our unit moved to an isolated, barren place near the Saudi, Iraq border called Rafha. Me and my four buddies Peterson, Boatman, Paschal, and Webber were assigned a Sheridan tank. This cold dusty place was out in the middle of the Arabian desert. We had to practice digging foxholes in the hard packed sand and we was always cleaning our weapons while we waited forever for a call telling us it was time to attack. All of us were nervous and scared. We’d heard that Saddam had used nerve gas on his own people. We didn’t know what to expect, but it was of some comfort to trust in our training. I tried to remember all that I’d been taught.

When the call came, we sped through the dessert in our tanks. At first we had a little bit of resistance, but then  we came upon this one farm. It was empty, no people, no animals, no sound at all. It was strangely quiet. When we stopped to check it out, that’s when Boatman noticed the dead birds. It was odd. We found dead cows, chickens, rats. Everything was dead. Even the bugs were dead. We looked at each other and got really scared. We wondered if there’d been a chemical or biological attack. Boatman asked if it was too late to put on our gas masks. We panicked, and there was a mad scramble to don them.  The captain sent the order to put on all our MOP gear. We had to walk around in all that uncomfortable stuff for nearly four hours. They took air samples and found that it was okay, but it revealed a certain reality that we had not yet experienced.

We pushed farther into Iraq and ran into pockets of Iraqis fleeing into the dessert. As we got closer and closer to towards the oil fields, we saw shelled out tanks and dead bodies everywhere. Off in the distance we saw towers of smoke where the oil fields burned. The thick black smoke choked out the sun. We saw horses and camels grazing against a backdrop of a smoky haze with soot falling from the sky like black snow. It was so weird, kinda like we’d set foot in hell.”

“Did you get to ride a camel?” said Bella all excited.

“No, I didn’t but one of my buddies did. I did get to go to the ruins of one, if not the oldest cities in the world called Ur. We got to climb up one of these pyramid things called a ziggurat. They had these nasty huge camel spiders this big and they’d chase you.” I showed with my hands how big and fast they were. Bella screamed and jumped.

“Are they really that big?” said Hank.

“Yeah they are.”

Everyone’s eyes were on me and then Sam said, “Did you see people get killed?”

“Yeah, lots of Iraqis got killed in the bombings.”

“Did you ever kill someone? asked Sam.

“Yeah, I did, but I don’t think I can talk about it right now.”

After I said that, there was a silence. “I’m sorry Travis,” said Sam.

“Don’t be sorry. Maybe I’ll tell you someday. It’s just not something I want little kids to hear about right before bed.”

Suzanne looked at me as she held a sleepy Bella in her lap. “This is the first I’ve heard you talk about the war, Travis.”

Ethel sat motionless staring at me, her eyes watered over. Cody looked over at his wife, “You okay Ethel?”

She reached up and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “I was just thinking about Daniel. I imagine he saw terrible things that he couldn’t speak about. I guess that’s why he started drinking and ran off the way he did.”

Arnie spoke up and said, “Hey Ben, how about another one of your songs? I think we need something a bit more cheerful.”  

Ben reached over and picked up his guitar and said, “Can you guess what song this is?” He started to play and immediately everyone recognized the theme song to Gilligan’s Island.

Not long after my story, we said goodnight to Cody and Ethel. They were used to going to bed a lot earlier. A little later I noticed Arnie yawning, and little Stevie seemed to be getting cranky.

Cindy looked over at Arnie and said, “Honey, you bout ready to head back?” He nodded yes. “Well folks we had a great time but looks like I need to get them to bed.”

Sam asked Cindy and Arnie if he could go spend the night at their house because he wanted to hang out with Brent.

Sam came up to Suzanne and said “Mom, can I spend the night at Cindy’s house? They said it was okay with them if it was okay with you. I was wanting to hang out with Brent tomorrow.”  

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Susanne.  

Sam sprinted to their car and jumped in the back seat. We saw them off to their car and came back to the dying fire. Ben decided to play just a bit more at the insistence of Hank who seemed to really enjoy the songs. It got pretty dark and then I asked if everyone wanted to move to the porch. It finally began to cool down a little and the crickets were still chirping loudly. Ben sat on the porch swing and Suzanne sat next to him. Bella  decided to head on to bed. I sat down on one of the folding chairs while Hank sat on the steps.

“So what about you Ben? Where all have you been?  You must have some cool stories to tell,” said Hank all wide eyed.

Ben looked up and scratched his chin, “Hmmm, well let me see. Once many years ago when I was living in Portugal, I got hired on as a regular seaman with fishing boat called the Santa Lucinda. Normally we would travel down the west coast of Africa then cut east across open ocean towards the southern tip of South America. It was hard work and I rarely got much rest.”  

“Wow! I didn’t know you were a sailor, Ben!” said Hank lying on his stomach with his head propped up with both fists eagerly listening to Ben’s story. I noticed that Suzanne sat closer to Ben and looked intently as he proceeded.

“On the third day of our second voyage going west, we encountered a major storm. It was late afternoon but the skies were dark. Our captain Augustine Fonseca, a tall ruddy man with a full black beard, ordered everyone on deck. He was a tyrant to his crew. There was talk of mutiny among the men and his actions during the storm put the crew over the edge.  The captain ordered us to climb up and secure the sails. As we raced about in the high winds, a big wave washed over the deck and a man fell overboard. The men started yelling. “Man overboard! man overboard!” but the captain said to ignore it. We continued to work, but some of us were ready to kill the captain. Another wave hit us and then a big boom. Something big hit us. There was this sudden jolt and a sound of ripping wood. I never knew what it was, but it was big enough to smash the hull. Some of us were immediately tossed overboard. We only had minutes to save ourselves since the ship was taking on water. The captain kept yelling to man our stations, but he should have been telling us to abandon ship. The ship started to list and take on water. I ran and grabbed my friend who’d fallen while climbing the mast. Water was pouring over the deck. The rain blew horizontally. Suddenly another wave hit the side of the ship and me and my friend Alec were swept into the sea. The water was wasn’t ice cold, but it wasn’t exactly warm either. I tried to keep Alex’s head above water. I saw that there were two other men in the water beside us. The ship was listing on its side and the life boat had not been cut lose. I tried to swim towards the ship with Alec but it was difficult. If we were to survive we needed the life boat and water. I noticed that a few empty barrels had been washed overboard and they were both attached to a rope. I called out to the other two men to swim towards me. It was difficult to swim in the rough waves and pouring rain. One of the men was able to reach me, but the other man sank beneath the waves. Our cook Petronio, a stocky balding man around fifty held on to the rope trying to catch his breath. He said it was Octavio who panicked and drowned. Octavio was just a kid no older than you Hank.”  

“So what happened?” said Hank all excited.

“Well, I told Petronio to hold Alec’s head above water. I intended to swim towards the sinking ship and release the lifeboat. As I swam to the overturned ship that was bobbing in the rough waves, I could see the life raft still attached to the deck of the ship. Three other men were fighting to free it, but the ship kept threatening to roll. “Ben, Ben come help us,” they said. One of the men named Fernao, a huge, strong man covered in tattoos was trying to cut the ropes that held the life raft. His hands were bloody after cutting himself with the knife. I was trying to hold the rope steady while he cut, but someone yelled that the ship was rolling again. This time we were plunged underwater. Fernao the tattooed man finally managed to cut the raft free, but now it along with us were underwater. We swam free of the ship and surfaced and waited for the life boat to float free of the ship. Two other men were in the water beside us. We watched as the ship rolled once more, then sank beneath the waves. We waited a minute or so and saw something bobbing in the water. It was the lifeboat, but it was upside down. We swam to it and tried to flip it over, but couldn’t do it. We clung to the side and then I decided to swim back to Petronio and Alec thinking maybe their added weight could help right the lifeboat. The current was starting to separate us. I called out “Petronio! Petronio!” It was hard to hear with the wind, rain and lapping waves. I tried to keep sight of the life raft as I searched for the barrels. Finally I spotted the barrels, they were drifting away. I swam towards them and as I got closer I looked for Petronio but saw no one. At that moment I felt a sense of terror. I was alone, tired from the long swim and the life boat was drifting further away. It was getting darker and the storm had not let up…” Ben sat silent, looking downward shaking his head.

Hank jumped up excitedly, “What did you do? What happened?”

Suzanne looked at Ben in amazement, “Oh my God, Ben tell us what happened?” She grabbed his arm and leaned towards him.

After a long pause and then a heavy sigh Ben looked up and said, “We drowned…”  

There was silence. Suzanne raised her eyebrows and turned her head towards Ben scrunching her face and said, “What!”  

A big mischievous smile crept across Ben’s face as he said, “Good story huh?”

Suzanne gave Ben a slight punch in the arm. “You butt.”

“He he I had you guys going there for a second didn’t I?”

Hank was smiling and said, “That was an awesome story Ben, even if it wasn’t real.”

“Well this was a great party Travis, but I think maybe I should be heading back,” said Ben.

“It is pretty late Ben, maybe you should stay the night. We have plenty of room,” I said.

“Yeah, please stay Ben. How about I fix us a cup of herbal tea? said Suzanne.

“Or maybe some other herb,” I said smiling and making a gesture of smoking pot.

Ben looked at us smiling, “I think you talked me into it.”

When Hank announced he was heading to bed, the three of us went back to the front porch and got stoned. Ben and Suzanne sat on the porch swing together. Suzanne said she felt cold and Ben put his arm around her. “That feel better?”

Suzanne smiled and leaned in to him. “Yes, much better.”

I felt way stoned, but seeing my two best friends falling for each other seemed right to me. It felt like they were becoming my family.

Suzanne grabbed my hand and said, “Travis, what really happened in Iraq that was so bad. Can you tell us?” she said.

“About a week after we encountered the farm with all the poisoned animals, we came to this little bombed out village.  Those still alive were just regular people trying to rebuild the buildings that we had just destroyed. I guessed that they were so used to seeing tanks and military personnel, because they didn’t seem interested that we were there. We were doing routine mop up operations where we were checking the village for hostiles. Everything seemed fine. I guess we had for the most part let our guard down. Me, Paschal and Peterson were checking out this storage shed when I heard a zinging noise whiz past my ear and something hit the concrete wall. Paschal yelled to get down so we all dropped. Another shot was fired this time it nicked Peterson in the shoulder. I yelled out to the others that there was a sniper in the area. We took cover, but had no idea where it was coming from. Another shot rang out and we determined that it was coming from across the street behind some old car. We opened fire and then we saw someone running towards a field. I took aim and shot and watched him fall. When it was determined that everything was clear we walked over to check out the shooter. When we finally got there I was shocked to see that it was a young boy, probably no older than Hank. I had shot him in the neck. He crawled across the field holding one hand on the wound, but blood was gushing out. He rolled over and just stared at us as we watched him die. Just before he died he looked right at me and said something in Arabic. We checked the car that he ran from and found a little girl cowering in the back seat. The bombings had killed the rest of their family. I killed a kid trying to protect the only family he had left. It made me sick. I’ve had nightmares a long time after that.”

“I’m so sorry Travis. I can’t imagine the guilt you’ve felt. Thanks for telling me.” said Suzanne. Ben came over and gave me a long hug without saying anything.

“I had a great time here tonight, but I am getting tired. I need to be going to bed. Ben I’ll see you bright and early Monday morning. I’m gonna let you guys have some private time to yourselves,” I said opening the screen door.

Ben put an arm around Suzanne and said, “You have a good night, Travis.”

Monday morning at work Ben seemed a little quiet. He was planing a board as I was busy sanding. Ben looked over at me and said, “Travis, I hope Friday night wasn’t too weird for you?”

I looked at Ben, “What do you mean?”

“Well, you know…Me and Suzanne. I guessed you noticed that we were getting a bit close.”

“Yeah, actually I think it is really cool,” I said.

“So you aren’t feeling jealous or anything?”

“No, maybe at first I felt somewhat rejected sexually when you told me you were straight and didn’t think of me in that way, but I love you, Ben as a best friend, and as a brother. I love Suzanne as well and think it is kinda awesome that my two best friends in the world like each other.”

Ben smiled, “Thanks Travis, the last thing in the world I want to do is hurt you. I think I’m having feelings towards Suzanne. I had a crush on her the first time I met her. I guess I didn’t know how she felt about me until just last night. I think I want to see where this leads,” said Ben “Damn! I feel like getting stoned. How about you Travis?”  

One afternoon I was busy picking up some of the scrap lumber and sawdust to clean up our work area. Ben was in his kitchen making sandwiches for lunch. As I was digging through the scrap boards covered in sawdust I came across a small two inch piece of cherry that had a few drops of blood on it. I suppose it must have been one that he had missed spraying with the bleach bottle. What was so strange is that the piece of wood had sprouted roots and a stem with green leaves had started to form at the edge of the blood splatter. At first I thought maybe the wood was still green, but everything we worked on had been drying for months or longer.  I turned the scrap of wood over in my hands looking to see if perhaps this growth has started from a seed, but it did not appear to be so. I heard Ben walking towards the porch and I quickly tossed the small scrap in the bag with the rest of the trash. I decided not to say anything about it. I just continued to fill the bag with scraps. Ben walked out the door carrying a big tray of sandwiches. Then he smiled at me and said, “You ready for lunch?”  

                            Monday August 13

I arrived at Ben’s house around 7 am. It was hot and humid, and the weatherman said it was supposed to be in the high nineties with a chance of thunderstorms later in the week. Ben was worried that the furniture might get wet if we waited much longer to varnish. We assembled all the pieces of the furniture from the past two days. I was so amazed at the works of art Ben created. The bed had a school of little fish carved in the top of the footboard along with turtles sunning themselves on rocks and frogs sitting on the bank. On the bottom part was a large catfish, carved rocks, and crawdads. There was a dresser with crows and sparrows perched in limbs of trees. A thin table with a life-sized fawn hiding under a canopy of branches and grass. A chest with two life-sized wooden raccoons trying to find a way inside. Seeing all this artwork sprawled out upon the lawn looked like moving day for an art museum.

Ben said it would be a good day to paint; not much wind and sunny. I would be a shame if the wind got up and blew dust all over the wet finish. Before long, Ben had taken off all his clothes and was kneeling down painting the hard to reach surfaces. It was nice to see the rich colors of the wood pop out when I applied the wet varnish. Ben made the furniture out of different types of wood and, when painted, the animal figures stood out against the darker and lighter colored woods.

Ben got on the phone and called up the guy telling him the furniture would be ready within the week. He said the guy thought Thursday at 2pm would be the best time to meet. Ben pulled out his pot pipe and asked me if I thought Sam or Hank might be interested in helping move the furniture? I was brushing the varnish on the dresser and looked up. I told him I was fairly sure pretty sure we could get Sam. He’s been trying to work as much as possible to save money for a used car. I wasn’t sure about Hank though. He’s been riding his bike and reading a lot this summer, but I said I would ask him.

Ben took a big toke and passed me the pipe. “It feels good to be nearly finished. Maybe we can take a big fishing trip after it is done,” said Ben blowing smoke.

“That sounds like a plan,” I said taking the pipe. “I guess we should get back to painting if we want to be finished by Thursday.”

                          Thursday August 16

It was a bright sunny morning, perfect for transporting the furniture. Sam decided to wear his muscle shirt. He seemed eager to help us load the furniture, especially after Ben said he would pay him a hundred bucks. When we arrived at Ben’s place, there was a big moving van parked out front.

Sam hopped out of the passenger side door and said, “Wow! is this what you guys were working on? This is awesome! It’s like a work of art or something.”

Ben walked out the door. “Thanks for coming to help me, Sam.”

“I didn’t know you were such a good artist, Ben. This stuff is really cool,” said Sam.

“Glad you like it. I just hope the the buyer likes it too.”

I got out of the truck and said, “Morning, Ben. I guess today’s the big day. Are you excited?”

“Yeah, and I’ll be ready for a rest.”

Sam sat down on Ben’s folding chair. “So what you want me to do, Boss?”

Ben looked around. “Hmm, probably need to start by wrapping the furniture in blankets.”

We got the van loaded up around noon. We made good time. It had already gotten hot. All three of us were shirtless and sweaty. Ben came out of the house with some iced tea and chicken salad sandwiches.

I wiped the sweat from my eyes with my shirt. “Ahhh, that looks good. I was just thinking about lunch,” I said.

Sam hung back as we dug into the sandwiches. “Don’t be shy Sam. Dig in,” said Ben. “You worked hard this morning.”

When we sat on Ben’s lawn chairs, I heard someone walking towards us on the road. I turned and saw Bill moseying into Ben’s yard.

“Hi Bill. You hungry?” asked Ben.

“Yeah, okay. What’s that big truck here for?” asked Bill.

“We’re taking the furniture to Maysville today to sell it. So Sam, Have you met Bill?”

“No, but I’ve seen him around town. Hi, Bill. I’m Sam.”

“Hi. You like wrestling? Bill said as his eyes lit up. “You watch Sting against the Undertaker the other night?”said Bill.

“Sam rolled his eyes and said, “Uhhhh no, I really don’t watch wrestling much.”

“You don’t want to get Bill started on wrestling, he can talk about it for hours, Huh Bill?”said Ben. Bill just smiled and said yeah.“Well, get yourself a sandwich, Bill, and relax.”

After a quick lunch we said bye to Bill and hopped in the van and drove off. We arrived in Maysville around a quarter to two and turned off of US 68 on to Jersey Ridge Road. We turned into this well manicured driveway that led up to a magnificent mansion.

“Damn, there’s some seriously rich people living here,” said Sam.

“Yeah, they saw some of my work that someone had bought in one of my yard sales. They contacted me and asked if I could make some custom-made furniture for them. They wanted something original and full of wildlife,” Ben said. “Well, I guess we should go knock on the door.”

We got out of the truck and walked up the long driveway. Before we got to the door, this middle-aged guy dressed in sweatpants and a polo shirt walked out to greet us. He was about my height with long black hair and greying temples.

“Howdy boys. I’m Kenneth Halpern, won’t you come in.” We looked at each other and nodded okay. We followed him inside into a spacious foyer with fancy furniture and sculptures in the hallway. There were lots of oil paintings on the wall. “So you hungry? Want something to drink? Soda, beer, wine, bourbon?”

“Uhh, you have a Coke?” I said.

“Sure you don’t want something stronger?” he said.

“Not for me,” said Ben.

“I’ll have a Coke also,” said Sam looking around at the sculptures.

Ben stretched and said, “Make that three then.”

We sat down on some fancy chairs in the hallway. The guy asked us about our ride up trying to make small talk. “So Ben, I’m so excited to see the furniture. So what price did we agree upon?”

“The price we agreed to was 50 thousand bucks,” said Ben.

“Yes, that sounds about right,” said Kenneth. When he said that Sam gasped and turned to me and smiled.

“Well I would imagine you’re curious to see what you are getting for your money,” said Ben.”

“Oh, yes indeed I am. When I saw that piece of furniture you sold at that yard sale, I realized you made something special. You have a great talent.”

He got up and disappeared through the big archway. Sam whispered to Ben, “Damn, this guy is way rich. He acted like 50 thousand was nothing.”

Kenneth came back holding a tray with three glasses of Coke and some little sandwiches followed by four big burly men dressed in blue work clothes. “Here you go boys. Let’s go see what you got Ben.”

Ben led the men out to the van and opened the door. Kenneth instructed the men to carry the furniture out on the lawn. We sat on some outdoor chairs eating the sandwiches while the men unloaded the van. Kenneth took the blanket off of the first piece that was a table with a fawn hiding under some underbrush. “Oh my. This is better than I could have imagined. I love it!” He uncovered the trunk with two wooden raccoons trying to open a box. “This is museum quality work. I think I have the better deal here, Ben.” We sat there as the men carried out the last pieces. Kenneth seemed elated. He walked over to us. “Ben, you truly have some serious works of art here. I feel extremely lucky to be purchasing these lovely pieces from you. You have a great future ahead of you if you decide to make more. Do you feel comfortable with a check? I’m good for it you know. I could go to the bank with you if you don’t feel comfortable with the check.”  

“I trust you Kenneth. Perhaps if you call the bank and tell them we’re coming, I’d appreciate it.”

They shook hands and we walked back to the van. When we got inside I said, “Ben, I’ve never seen a check for that much in my life. It seems kinda weird cashing such a check,” I said.

Sam said, “Damn, you guys are rich.”

“Well, I definitely don’t have to work again for a while,” said Ben smiling. “Now we have free time to go fishing.”

We pulled out of the driveway and Kenneth waved bye. We got back on US 68 and drove into downtown Maysville. We pulled into the Wells Fargo bank and Ben stepped out while we waited in the van. He seemed to be gone for a while but returned and didn’t say anything.

“Did they cash the check Ben?” I said.

“Actually, they did.” He pulled out his wallet. “Here you go Travis. I promised I would give you a few thousand, 20 grand. This is a cashier’s check. They said it is just as good as cash.”

My eyes got big. “Wow! that’s amazing, but Ben that’s way too much. I only helped you for a few weeks.”

“Then consider the rest as my gift,” Ben said grinning. He then pulled out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to Sam. “I believe this is yours young man.”

“That’s the easiest hundred bucks I ever made in my life,” Sam said with a big smile. “One step closer to getting a car.”

“So where do you guys want to eat lunch?” said Sam.

“What about Pizza Hut? Pizza Hut good for you Travis?”said Ben.

“Sure, been a while since I had pizza.”

We drove around until we found one. Ben parked the van and we got out. As we walked towards the door, a man and a woman passed us exiting the restaurant, suddenly I heard someone behind me say, “Benji? Benji, Is that you?” The guy ran back towards us. “Oh fuck dude! Benji, its me Randy Talbert.” The guy looked to be our age in his early 30s short, stocky wearing a mullet and plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off. He looked like a rough character and the woman with him looked like a tall, thin hooker with bleach blonde hair and big breasts stuffed into tight blouse. “Benji, I haven’t seen you since high school.”

Ben looked confused. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I remember you,” said Ben.

“Oh sure you do. We went to Johnson County High school together in Paintsville.”

The man’s wife joined him and said, “Randy, do you know these guys?”

“Fuck yeah! This here’s my old buddy from high school. I ain’t seen him in years.”

Ben looked somewhat nervous and confused. “I’m so sorry,” he said shaking his head and stuttering. I really don’t remember you.”

The guy cocked his head and furrowed his eyebrows as if he were pissed off. “Damn, I can’t believe you forgot your best bud.” When he said that Sam’s eyes got big.

“Sorry Randy. So you say we used to hang out?” Said Ben.

“Fuck dude. We used to get into all sorts of trouble. So I guess you’re telling me you don’t remember when we got in trouble for shoplifting beer or when you hit that damned nigger that told on us?” Ben looked worried and shook his head no.  

“What the fuck, I guess you don’t remember getting Kelly Sosby pregnant and her getting an abortion either.”  Ben looked at me and Sam and shrugged his shoulders. “Well Ben, I guess you’re a different person now huh? Anyway, whatever man. Take care.” The man mumbled under his breath as he and his wife walked back towards their car. That seemed very odd to me. I was really curious to learn more about Ben. There was definitely more to Ben that we didn’t know. He didn’t seem the type to hang out with someone like Randy. He was my friend, though and did nothing to make me doubt his friendship.

We all sat down to a deep dish pizza but we couldn’t put that incident out of our minds. During lunch Sam asked Ben questions about high school and this Randy guy.  “So Ben, this Randy guy seems to remember you. Did you used to get into lots of trouble when you were a kid?”

“You know Sam, as far as I’m concerned, whatever bad things I may have done, it is just the past. I can’t change what happened, but I can choose to be a different person now. You understand?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”  

Ben changed the subject and said,“So, Sam what do you plan to do with your money?”

Sam seemed to be caught off guard, “Uhh, well I’ve been saving my money to get a car. I start school next month and I’ll be living with aunt Cindy and Arnie. I want to be able to drive to school and to come home on weekends. I got 300 dollars saved up so far, but I’m hoping to cut tobacco soon to make up the rest. I hope they’ll let me play football this year. I haven’t had a chance to practice this summer.”

“Do they expect you to come to school in the summer just to play football?” said Ben.

“Well, if I want a better chance of being on the team.”

I sat listening to their conversation not saying a word. I tried to imagine Ben as a young redneck hoodlum, but it just didn’t make sense and I left it at that.