revelation_22-20

The grave was shallow and fresh, poorly dug at that.
“Kern, I told you a billion times to keep away from the swamp.”
“But Daddy!” Kern protested, her lower lip starting to tremble, “Why can’t I?”
“Because I don’t like the thought of you getting stuck out there and me not being able to find you, honey.” I said to the small, fair-haired child.
“Darling, don’t scare her like that.” My wife chided softly, “It’s only until you get older Kern, then daddy will take you out there with him.” She looked to me, “Won’t you?”
“We’ll see,” I said softly, knowing that I would never let my child go into that swamp, and I’d be damned to be the one to take her into there. Okay I know it sounds cliché, the whole anti-swamp thing, but I won’t go near that swamp.
Maggie and I have been married for five years now and Kern is our only child, unless you count the stillborn last year. The word still gives me that feeling I get when I’m going to puke. That helpless feeling, knowing you can’t stop it but knowing it’s coming anyway. Kern looks like her father and Maggie, mostly like Maggie though. You notice that I said her father, as in I am not her father. I’m not.
Anyway back to the grave I found. Okay I will admit it, I didn’t do the logical thing: get my wife and three-year-old the hell away from this marshy resting place. Nope, I - like the brainac I am stayed and acted like the burial chamber hadn’t been there, that the grave was just a bump in the mud. Not only did I not mention the grave-plot, I failed to mention that I saw a spirit loitering on the rocks.
Don’t think I am crazy or that seeing this stuff would be good in any way, shape, or form. Believe you me, it’s not; I can barely lead a normal life as a preacher in a small town. Okay I hear you now ‘a preacher isn’t a normal person, they talk to God and stuff’. Boy do I have news for you: anybody can talk to God if they want. Then comes the hard part: having faith that He’ll do something about it. I’ll tell you now, I’ll tell you only what I know and how I feel but I won’t preach to you.
I lost my faith a long time ago. People around here don’t know that, hell my wife doesn’t know that. They still see me as the godly man around here. They also don’t know I don’t trust my wife, that I have more than a feeling that she’s cheating on me. I don’t know maybe it’s the fact that she’s pregnant again and I’m sterile. I never figured I was quite that dumb.
“Luc!” Maggie said, elbowing me. For the second time this day it hit me: I loved this cheating, lying, fair-haired, green-eyed female.
“Hmmm?”
“You just missed a call on your cell phone, all because you were daydreaming.” I chuckled and stood. I bent and brushed my mouth to hers and once more felt the jolt of guilt. I shrugged it off once more and jogged to the house. I took my cell phone out of my jeans pocket and flipped it open as I entered the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and ran the water until it ran cold. I filled the glass as I looked at the screen. I turned off the tap and took a long gulp of the icy water.
My brother Gabriel had called. I pulled my long hair from my face and settled down on a wooden stool. The cell phone rang in my hand, and I answered it.
“Luc?”
“Hey Gabe,” I replied.
“Are you okay?”
“Why?”
“This is the third time this week that you haven’t answered the phone that I’ve called.”
“Sorry mummy, I was thinking. You do know that it’s eight in the morning, right?”
“Oh thinking now? That’s news,”
“Funny. Gabe are you alone?”
“Oh Lord, what now?”
“Are you?”
“Lacy is asleep on the bed but otherwise yah, why?”
“We really need to talk, but I can’t now, Maggie and Kern are coming into the house. Meet me at our café in Calvin as soon as you can.”
“I have a friend I want you to meet, could she...” I cut my brother off.
“Yes, bye kiddo, see you soon.”
“Luc, who was it?” Maggie asked suspiciously.
“Sorry, sweetie I can’t talk now I need to meet someone in Stets in half an hour.”
“Lucifer, we need to talk.” My wife said sharply as soon as our daughter was out of the room.
“I’ve got to go.” I rushed upstairs and threw together an overnight bag and came back downstairs.
“Luc, I’m leaving you.” Margaret said. I stopped dead in my tracks.
“How does it make you feel that you feel that you must be the one to break it off? I mean I should have left you a long time ago, but I believe in forgiveness and second chances, so I gave you one and another every time you did something stupid to deserve one more chance. But I draw the line here Margaret, I will not take you back after this.”
“Once more you think this stuff is about you, it’s not, it’s about me. I am in love with…”
“Yeah Jimmy O’Hara, I know and I know he’s the father of that child you carry now.” Her jaw dropped and I walked out to my Jeep. I climbed in and tossed my bag to the passenger side. I backed out of the driveway and once I was one the highway I called my lawyer and banker.
“Cummings,”
“Roger, I need divorce filed for A.S.A.P, and a copy of the pre-nuptial agreement faxed to me.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“Margaret and I are separating,”
“I am sorry to hear that, have you tried counseling?”
“Roger, I am not in the mood to discuss my marriage’s problems with my attorney, please fax me that information soon as you can.”
“Sorry, Luc. How are you handling it?”
“I’m fine Roger, thanks.” We said our goodbyes then I called my banker. I closed off both of Maggie and my joint accounts on my way up to Calvin. Two hours and twenty minutes later I pulled into Riley’s café’s parking lot. I noticed my brother’s truck not far from where I now stood. I closed my door and locked the Jeep. I walked up, then onto the sidewalk, then into the café.
I subtlety scouted the practically empty café for my brother and his ‘friend’. I spotted Gabriel and walked over to the table where he and his friend sat. Gabe was my older brother, and usually my best friend. His dark blonde hair was past his ears, and his dark eyes gave him the ‘loner’ look, even though he is a major people person. Gabriel’s friend has long coppery hair, green eyes.
“Gee, Gabe this looks like a date,” I said. His friend looked my way. Gabe followed her gaze to me; he chuckled and motioned for me to have a seat next to him, I sat next to him.
“Luc meet Jeremy, Jeremy meet my brother Lucifer.” I shot her a look across the table.
“I wonder how you lived that down in junior high,” Jeremy taunted.
“Well, I could say the same thing about you. I mean, roughly how many times where you teased about having a masculine name?”
“Once, and he didn’t have much else to say afterwards though.” Gabe chuckled and looked at me.
“As I recall, he was found beaten in a back alley,”
“Whoops,” Jeremy mouthed sarcastically.
“Now that we have covered the taunting banter of strangers, would you cut to the point?” I asked.
“Touchy isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he’s as to the point as you are violent,”
“I’m not even gonna ask if Lacy and her have met.” I said, watching my brother and Jeremy I could easily tell that they were very comfortable with each other.
“She’d think I was cheating,” Gabriel said picking up his coffee cup.
“I think that’s rather nice: you’ve known her since grade school, and she still thinks you capable of cheating,” I said wryly, Gabe smirked over his coffee cup.
“Oh I am capable, it’s just that’d it hurt me more than it would her…” setting his cup down after taking a gulp, “so how is the wife?”
“Maggie?” I smirked, “Now there’s something really interesting. She’s leaving me,”
“For Jimmy?” Gabe guessed. As I shrugged my indifference I saw Jeremy’s eyebrow shoot up.
“Like the hell I know or care,”
“Tsk, tsk such language and for a preacher.” Gabe chuckled.
“I’m sensing some subtle apathy towards the cheating spouse,” Jeremy commented, “Is that even healthy?”
“Probably not, but what can I do about it?” Then I added, “You tell me to see a shrink and I’ll probably smack you,”
“I take it you are following through with your plan,”
“My plan…actually I finished it as I drove down here.” I said quietly.
“Your plan? Men plan now? Where was I?” Jeremy mocked.
“Mockery Jeremy, honestly I thought you might’ve grown up from this stage,” Gabe returned.
“Why should I have grown up, you two obviously haven’t,” Jeremy asked.
“Okay, if you must mock me, do it silently.” I said watching the pair.
“But then it’s not as fun,”
“Yeah, yeah, I know but I can’t hear it and therefore don’t have to act on my exceedingly strong urge to knock your heads together,” I said thoughtfully.
“I see your point. Anyway, as I was saying until I was so rudely interrupted,” she shot a mock meaningful look Gabe’s way, “what was, is your plan?”
“Still much mocking going on. To cut off my wife’s bank accounts and take her out of my will,” I said watching Jeremy’s face.
“Now there’s a sure way to give your family a reason to read your will,” Jeremy said softly, watching me from over her coffee cup. I glanced over at my brother; he seemed totally unaware of the unity of Jeremy’s and my gaze.
“Luc, you said we had to talk…what about?” Gabe asked after finishing off his coffee.
“Oh…nothing much other than I’m giving up the whole preaching thing, since I lost my faith anyhow, I’m selling the swamp and cabin, and moving to L.A., and…” I paused in my list in light of the fact that Gabe had coughed up his gulp of coffee, and half came up his nose. “Uh Gabe?”
“Yeah?”
“How was the sugar and creamer coming back up?” I mocked, trying to hold back a chuckle. Jeremy’s blue eyes danced as she chuckled and attempted to cover it up with a cough.
“Okay, what was that again?” Gabe asked after shooting Jeremy a serve look. “Cause I think you lost me with the ‘giving up”,”
“I am not going to be a preacher any longer, you with me?”
“Um…yeah,”
“Then how come your eyes are as big as saucers and your coffee smells like it’s gonna revisit your cup?” Jeremy asked dryly, barely restraining a laugh.
“Roark, bite me,” my brother shot back.
“How ‘bout not and just for the record, I’ve had better offers,” Jeremy replied with a grin.
“I’m sure you have,” I muttered. The door swung open and a man in a leather coat came in. He looked at what seemed directly at me and quietly took a seat in the far corner of the café, not far from our table. Jeremy kicked me under the table as Gabe chuckled and I became more wary of my curious position.
As the waitress took the man in the leather coat’s order and left his table my body began to react, just as it had at the swamp when I discovered the grave. I felt my body’s temperature go down slowly.
“Luc?” Jeremy questioned softly. I glanced at where my brother had been, he was gone; but where? “Bathroom,” Jeremy informed at the same volume. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to puke,”
“Physically I’m fine,” I said as I glanced over at the man in the leather coat, he was gone. “Damn,” I muttered.
“And mentally?”
“I might be losing it,”
“Might?”
“I think I’m beginning to be paranoid,” I said softly as my heart began to pound and the hair on my neck stood up.
“Personally I think if I was being stalked by a two-hundred pound man I’d be paranoid too,” Jeremy said quietly. I watched her face for a trace of mockery or deceit. I found none; her face was totally open and honest. So either she was a very good liar or she was telling me the truth.
“Stalked?”
“Stalked, you know followed, pursued, hunted… whatever you want to call it, the meaning is still the same here: that man is following you,” I glanced up in time to see Gabe walking back up to the table. “I’ll talk to you later though, don’t bring it up to him,” Gabriel came up to the table and slide back into his seat next to me.
“So is zombie-boy back among the living?”
“Not really,” I muttered, looking back to the table of the guy in the leather, he was back to his table. I covered the side of my mouth that my brother could see and mouthed, “Damn that was convenient,” to Jeremy.
“So are you two on speaking-terms or will me asking you to take her home be a death zone?”
“We’ll be fine, but if not, you know that I’m a survivor; I’ll make it one way or another,” Jeremy said shooting an impish grin my way.
“Oh dear god, I hope that’s the last I see of that,”
“Of what?” I asked innocently. Gabe shot me a look of profound disgust. We stood with grins on our faces as Jeremy and I went out to Gabe’s truck. Meanwhile, Gabe paid the bill and came out to his truck. He unlocked the passenger door and handed Jeremy a small bag and a Glock. Gabriel straightened and looked at Jeremy and I.
“Behave you two,” Gabe said with a grin.
“Gabe, if my wife gives you a call and wants to know where I am, tell her that last you heard I don’t know,” he chuckled and nodded. I turned on my heel and walked over to my Jeep. I turned in time to see my brother kiss Jeremy softly on the lips and the guy in the leather coat come out of the café.
She walked easily over to the passenger side of the Jeep, Jeremy got in as I did. I started the Jeep and watched my brother’s truck pull out of the parking lot.
“Luc?” Jeremy questioned as I backed out of the parking spot. I thought about my reply as I drove out of the parking lot.
“Hmm?”
“Alright already, ask the damn question before it kills you, Luc,”
“Maybe I don’t want to know,” I replied.
“You do, and don’t even deny it.”
“Perhaps you think that I want to ask you something but perhaps I don’t and perhaps I do want to ask you something quite the opposite of what you think I want to ask you about,”
“Okay, if you’re going to be so difficult about saying what’s on your mind we might had a problem or two getting along at all,” Jeremy said in a mocking tone.
“Don’t even start this, I know where that little talk is going,”
“Do you?”
“Where?”
“Where this talk is going or where are we going?”
“The latter,”
“Charlottesville,” the name struck a chord in my brain that I’d rather it hadn’t. My first love was originally from Charlottesville.
“Are you originally from there?”
“Yeah, you know someone from there?”
“Kind of,”
“Hmm…I think I like you better after I’ve pissed you off a bit, you’re not as sarcastic and more open.”
“If I wasn’t driving I’d have to smack you,”
“You’re a charmer,”
“I try,” a beat of silence followed. A flash of silver caught my eye, the Glock. “Could you put that in the glove box?”
“The gun?”
“Yeah…so…” Jeremy opened the glove box and placed the Glock inside and closed it softly.
“Who?”
“Who did I know from Charlottesville?” Jeremy nodded, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I dated… she’s an ex…”
“Hmm…you loved her…” Jeremy guessed. I glanced at her.
“I guess,”
“Did you love your wife?”
“…Yeah I loved Maggie,”
“You paused there. Okay what I meant was were you in love with her,”
“No, I wasn’t in love with her,” I replied calmly. “What about you, do you have anyone you ever loved?”
“All though a lot of people think I am not capable of love, yeah I loved an ex of mine. But that was a long time ago,” Roark said.
(more to come if it is wished for)

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