Excerpt: Trouble in Weary Eye: Of the Nature of Men and of Compassion

The midday air in the building’s highest desolate looking office space was dry and stifling hot. It was so hot, in fact, that the experts on the telecoms were insisting that all non-essential personnel stay home from work that day unless they were working in buildings that were temperature controlled. As for Ian Andrew Mclean, he rarely bothered with listening to the experts. Not that he considered their advice to be in any way ill advised. It was just that, wet or dry, Andrew liked the crippling heat. He particularly liked working under the conditions because for whatever reason the high temperatures seemed to make his equipment run better and that made him very happy indeed.

Across the street from the three-level office building was the Shinning Line Café. Andrew always made a point to drop in at the same time every day whether he was hungry or not.

Like everywhere else, the Café was empty. All the wait staff had been told to stay home under the practical logic that the heat wouldn’t be stirring up anyone’s appetite for coffee or pie that day. Unfortunately it appeared that not everyone had received the staffing memo because by midday an old beat up Ford pickup truck came rattling down the street barely stopping long enough to deposit a young woman on the dusty corner of the deserted road before speeding off again out of sight. The woman in question couldn’t have been much older than twenty-five. Her hair was brown and curled into fat ringlets that, if straightened, would have fallen well down half her back had it not all been gathered and tied back with a worn out sable ribbon and twisted into a messy bun.

Beyond her hair the woman looked sweet and trim and to anyone looking it would have been easy to tell that her smock dress had been newly ironed and pressed because the creases were still ridged and the fabric crisp. By the time the young woman had gotten half way to the café and realized that it was, in fact, closed for the day; her heart slowly sank into her stomach at the understanding that it was too late to flag down her ride. The situation with the café was enough to send the already frustrated woman into to a furious fit of annoyed helplessness but it was simply too hot for her too express her irritation for very long. With no ride and no obvious place to go there was nothing left to do about her predicament besides trying to get out of the sun while she waited for her shift to end and her ride to come back.

On any other day the task would have been simple, but today was no ordinary day.

At exactly half past twelve Andrew concluded putting about his office and decided to go down into the street so that he could stretch his legs and enjoy the sun as it pressed oppressively into the earth. As the early day had progressed the temperature had progressed with it higher and faster than anyone had anticipated. As a result by midday new advisories were being hurriedly broadcasted advising against people being out of doors for any length of time.

Upon getting out into the open air even Andrew had to admit that the heat was abnormally high even for his own liking and that if people weren’t careful the conditions would bring about significant risks to the publics health. Andrew noted darkly to himself that the weather presenting in Weary Eye was the exact kind of weather that never lifted without taking a good many casualties with it in the process. As quickly as he thought it the notion was put aside as his eyes were drawn out across the street where Andrew noted a lone figure standing out on the café’s veranda looking miserable and distressed. One look at the woman’s reddened cheeks and dazed languid expression as she watched him watch her, told him that the woman wasn’t all that certain about what she was looking at. As he crossed the street and came even closer it was clear that she shouldn’t have been waiting as long as she probably had been out of doors.

“Hi. I see you’ve discovered that the Café is closed for the day on account of the heat.” Andrew approached the stranger slowly and with care before looking her slowly up and down to confirm he didn’t know who she was.

“Are you O.K.?” He inquired.

At first the woman tried to smile flatly and wave him away but when that didn’t get any results the woman lost all desire to seem in control and half heartedly replied with a single word as she sluggishly fanned her face, “hot.” Before she went on to put all of her weight against the wooden railing behind her.

“Right. You don’t look well. We should go inside.” Andrew replied decidedly as he immediately came to her side and ushered the woman into a nearby wicker chair.

“How? Everything is locked up tight.” She pointed out lightly.

“Ah ha.” In spite of the heat Andrew grinned ruefully and produced a silver faced cell phone from one of any number of pockets hidden on his person. He then indicated for the woman to wait a moment as he placed his call.
“Hey, Maribeth? Andy here. I need to let someone into the Café’ for a spell. She looks like one of yours but I’m pretty sure she’s new in town. I see. Well I can take care of it and I’ll pass on your apologies. Be safe. I will too. Bye.” Andrew ended his call and helped the woman to her feet once more.

“Everything is all set. You must be the new waitress Maribeth Clayton hired from out of town. She wanted me to extend her apologies about forgetting to put your contact information on the phone roster. That’s why you weren’t told not to come in today. I’m Andrew by the way. I have an office in that building over there. I’m also a close personal friend of Maribeth’s.” While he was talking Andrew fished out a set of keys and began unlocking the café.

“I’m also Maribeth’s personal handy-man which is why I have the privilege of letting you in.” Andrew smiled and opened the door for them. “Have a seat somewhere. Maribeth says we can stay as long as we like just as long as I keep an eye on things while the café is open.”

“I’m Joy.” She interjected meekly as she sunk into a nearby chair.

It seemed amazing to Joy that her savior could go on talking like he was under the current conditions. Joy herself was so parched from the sapping sun she could barely bring herself to utter more than a word or two at a time. While the interior of the café was by no means cool even with the fans going at full blast, it was still nearly fifteen degrees cooler inside than it was out. The difference felt considerable, at least at first glance.

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance. You like lemonade, I hope? You look as if you could use a glass or two. Stay there. I’ll fix you something cold.” Andrew was already behind the counter flipping open cabinets with the instant familiarity of someone who had once been apart of the staff.

The second he placed the oversized and brimming glass in front of her icy cold to the touch, Joy picked it back up in both hands and drank the entire liquid contents of the glass down in one slow yet efficient tilt.

“Thank you.” Joy gasped when she finally came up for air slamming the glass down in front of her.

“My pleasure. Have some more.” Andrew topped off her glass once more and poured another one for himself.

“So how do you know Maribeth?” This time Joy took long slow sips instead of ravished gulps.

“My first job as a kid was in Maribeth’s Café. I was a dishwasher.” Andrew sat himself down on a stool as they conversed. “Hey, are you hungry? I bet you’re hungry. Let me fix something for you. I haven’t had my lunch yet.”

“In this heat?” Joy’s mouth fell agape at the proposition.

“Why not? Think of it as a welcoming gesture on my part. Anyway, you’ll be waiting on people soon enough. It might be nice to start things off on the other end.” Bidding Joy to trust him, Andrew disappeared into the back kitchen and returned a few minutes later with his arms full of jars and tins.

“I don’t know how you like your sundaes so I just brought everything I could find out.” Andrew spread the topping condiments out in front of Joy and went fishing behind the main counter for spoons and bowls. By the time he was done everything was laid out neatly for them like some kind of Candy land Buffet.

“O.K. You were right. This was a good idea.” Joy remarked a few minutes later after she swallowed a thick mouthful of melting ice cream drizzled with cold fudge and caramel.

“Ice cream makes everything better.” Andrew agreed before fixing his lips around a spoonful of ice cream and cherry pie filling.

“My boyfriend and I just moved here a few weeks ago. Today was supposed to be my first day working her as I’m sure you now know. So much for that I guess.” Joy nervously chuckled.

Andrew nodded in acknowledgement. “Consider yourself officially welcomed to town.”

“Have you lived here a long time.” Joy asked before taking another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

Andrew shrugged.

“I’ve lived in Weary Eye on and off my entire life. I know it seems like there’s hardly anything out here but somehow its home.” He remarked.

After that silence ensued for a little while as they ate together.

“Can I ask you a potentially stupid question?” Andrew inquired after a time. “Why here? Of all the places you could have landed and found a job in; why Weary Eye specifically?”

“Why not?” Joy replied with a shrug. Its still a town isn’t it? It seems to me that one place is just as good as any other when you’re young and capable. Wouldn’t you say so?”

Andrew smiled.

“No. I wouldn’t say so. But, then again, what do I know? Are you done with that?” He asked.

Joy nodded and passed him her spoon and empty bowl watching the man curiously while he plucked up his own bowl and brought them both around the counter to place in the sink.

“Here. Let me help. I’m going to have to know where all this goes eventually. I might as well start now.” Gathering the remainder of the table’s contents up in her arms, Joy followed Andrew’s lead and began putting things back in their logical places.

Everything was put away by the time the dishes had been rinsed and when Andrew turned around to pick up one of the dry tea cloths from beneath the register Joy was already beside him with it waiting in her hands. Andrew instantly passed the wet bowls over as if they’d been washing dishes together for years and then put them away one by one when she passed them back.

“You know,” He said thoughtfully as he took the tea cloth from her and quickly wiped down the molding around the sink. I was thinking if you wanted to call someone to come and take you home you could always use the Café’s phone. I was thinking that it might be a better option than waiting around here until the end of your shift.”

“No good. Clay, my boyfriend, isn’t due back until after my shift is over with. I can’t reach him while he’s out on the road.” Joy confessed with a sigh.

“Oh.” Andrew replied. “Well in that case I could drive you home if you want. I have another few hours of work to get done but let’s face it. I don’t think anyone is going to care or notice if I skip out early at this point. Naturally, it’s up to you. As I said before you more than welcome to hang out here until your ride comes. I can always come back and close up the Café later.”

“Well,” Joy considered her options carefully. “I suppose I should wait here. Don’t get me wrong it’s really kind of you to offer to drive me home and all. It’s just…”

“You don’t know me from Adam.” Andrew finished for her. “It’s O.K. I understand. In that case I should probably go back to work. Before I do that though, I’m going to leave you my cell phone number. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything while I’m gone. When exactly is your beau due back?”

“5:30.” Joy replied.

“Fine. I’ll come back to lock up the Café around then. Go ahead and help yourself to whatever you might need in the meantime and be careful. It’s really hot out there. If it starts to get to you go through the back there and sit. It was good to meet you Miss Joy. Take care now.” At that Andrew nodded goodbye and showed himself out.

By this time the temperature outside was at its peak and Andrew suddenly felt like he had something in common with the men and women in arms who spent months at a time without relief working under similar ecological conditions. He wasn’t a solider however and Weary Eye certainly wasn’t Iraq by any standard of comparison. Had he had a radio handy he would have heard the reports of heat stroke and other temperature related maladies that were rolling across the country and being monitored on every available frequency. The reports were predictable enough as far as Andrew was concerned however and instead of climbing back up the two flights of stairs to his office space above he happened to think better on it and went down stairs instead to the complex’s underground basement instead.

Made up of mostly pipes and concrete, the basement of the run down building was used mostly for miscellaneous storage and the occasional poker game when something building wide was on the fritz and he didn’t feel like going home. It was also deep enough underground and dark enough to be blissfully cool to the skin by comparison. It was here among the boxes, faulty copy equipment, and extra cooler jugs of spring water that Andrew decided he would spend the rest of the afternoon with. At least until it was time to return and close up the Café for the night.

When Andrew thought about it, it occurred to him that he didn’t much like the idea of leaving Joy behind in a strange place all by her lonesome. There was just something about the feeling of the day that had started to nag at him and while he understood that he and Joy were just starting to become acquainted, he couldn’t help but feel a smidge of concern for the woman.

Andrew grunted as he thought about the woman he’d met.

“Of all the places to settle in, even for a bit.” Andrew remarked to himself even while he realized his words colored him a hypocrite.

The main difference between them was that Andrew had been born to the area and as a direct consequence the rural desert town would always be apart of him no matter where he went. Joy on the other hand had moved to Weary Eye and as far as he knew she’d been born somewhere else. The question of why Joy had come to town was still present in his mind. It seemed to him that short of someone’s car breaking down in the city square, there was few if any who would actively choose to stay in Weary Eye for any extended length of time if they didn’t have something strong to hold them there. Still. Andrew reminded himself that none of it was any of his concern. Joy had her reasons for staying in Weary Eye just like everyone else did.

“Lord in Heaven, why did I allow Clay to talk me into coming to this God forsaken place?” Joy found herself asking after a time as she hiked up her skirt another inch and pressed the cool glass she’d filled with ice water to the hollow of her throat.

Joy had heard stories about the heat waves in this particular part of the country but what she was experiencing seemed highly excessive. Even if she’d agreed to let Andrew drive her back to the place she and Clay were renting, the conditions would have been more or less the same only Joy would have been completely alone in an unfamiliar place a god few miles away from the heart of Weary Eye. Somehow knowing there was another living person within reasonable reach felt comforting to her; Even if Joy couldn’t claim to know the man very well.

Eventual Joy found herself reflecting on the ice cream they’d shared together. Andrew couldn’t have been much older than thirty, maybe thirty-five. His looks and demeanor seemed naturally youthful. With a playful, though capable edge to him, that reminded Joy that her new acquaintance was both a man and a virtual stranger to her. Even so. The thought of ringing up his number and requesting him to come back and keep her company seemed entirely too powerful. While the café was a nice enough place, Joy couldn’t help but feel strange sitting around in it on her own. Then again Joy reminded herself that Andrew had said he’d come back later in the day to close things back up and that there was no real reason to call him up sooner than that. After all it wasn’t as if there was any kind of an emergency she needed him to help her with.

Just as the last thought crossed her mind Joy reached out and twisted the knob on the small radio next to the register on the front counter. The second it clicked on an official sounding monotone voice came sounding through the speakers.

“Just twenty minutes ago public health officials across the states issued a medical state of emergency due to the unusually high and entirely dangerous heat wave sweeping across a large percentage of the country. At this time all individuals are being strongly encouraged to remain indoors and avoid excessive activity if not positioned in a weather controlled facility. No one is advised to be out of doors for any length of time between the hours of now and sunset and at risk individuals should take all due precautions included but not limited to young children, the elderly, and individuals already in precarious states of physical health.

For those lacking suitable temperature controlled facilities it is advisable to remain in dark areas away from direct sun and with good air flow. It is also advised that individuals remain well hydrated and mindful of heat related symptoms.” The voice went on to list the mostly likely signs of heat stroke and sun poisoning among a few other less than comforting details about the unusual heat wave that was affecting a good percentage of the states. “We will be updating this bulletin as new information becomes available. Please stay tuned.”

Feeling sickened by the ominous radio report, Joy switched off the knob and slumped backwards into the stool so that her back rested against the wall. Even with the ceiling fans on at full kilter and the widow shades down the Café was still a little too warm for comfort.

“Lord, what was it he said earlier? Something about sitting in the back?” Joy asked out loud as she pushed herself off of the sticky stool and began to poke around the café’s back kitchen for the first time.

It didn’t take long for her to make some headway in finding out what Andrew had probably been referring to. In the very back of the kitchen was a short hall that led on the left to a side room about the size of a large elevator cab. Just within the room were doors leading into two large walk in refrigeration units, one being a freezer. Joy immediately crossed into the room and pulled open the first insulated door of the refrigerator.

“Oh, Jesus. I love this café’.” Instantly seduced by the burst of cool air that accosted her, Joy eagerly hurried to retrieve the nearest chair she could find, this one with a cushioned seat and back to it, and set it back up within the refrigeration unit. It didn’t take very long for her to make herself comfortable within her new refuge as she cozened herself down into the chair and propped her feet up on a nearby crate while she idly fanned herself cool like a southern bell in the June.

Even though Joy hadn’t sat very long outside the Café’s doors before Andrew had come along and been nice enough to let her in, the time she’d spent waiting out in the direct sun had been enough to sap her energy and ease her mindset into a complacent ball of fuzz.

“Why does this part of the country have to be so damn hot?” Joy asked herself while she continued to fan her face with the flattened remains of a sample sized Wheaties box she’d found.

“You just better come back for me on time today Clay. Because I don’t know how much of all this I can take.” Joy slumped farther down into her chair. Now that she was contentedly cool sitting in industrially insulated little refuge she was starting to feel the excitement of her afternoon begin to catch up with her.

Even if the weather had been more reasonable on that day it wouldn’t have changed the fact that lately Joy had been feeling a lot more tired and run down than usual. Elements of her life had been so stressful lately with traveling across the country for weeks at a time not to mention the issues she and clay were having in their relationship. As Joy let her makeshift fan come to rest across her lap a funny mental thought began to form in her mind about emerging from the refrigerator unit to find the world completely changed and foreign, like something out of an H.G. Wells Novel, both familiar and yet worlds apart for anything she’d known before. Such was the stuff of Joy’s inner most fantasies as she slowly began to nod and then drop off completely into a sweet looking sleep.

--@--

“If it’s all the same to you Maribeth, I’d like to get as many people together as we can after the Town meeting today. The news reports are saying that people are dropping like flies all over the place and there’s no telling how many from our neck of the woods there’ll be. Its not going to be enough to just keep people inside if this continues and I know for a fact that at least half of the household in Weary Eye don’t have adequate central air control.” While Joy had been making herself comfortable over at the café, Andrew had been spending his time on his cell phone.

“Yeah. I’m planning to head back over there right now. I’ve been keeping a look out and from what I can tell no one else has been over there since I left which means your new employee is probably going to need some more help. I’m going to go check on her and see if she wants to come to the meeting with me or be brought home then after the meeting I’ll be heading over to your place. Right, I will. You take care now and call me Maribeth if anything comes up. I mean that. All right? Good. I’ll be there shortly.” Andrew disconnected the call and flicked his cellular phone shut.

It was nearing six o’clock.

Well past the time Joy had said her Boyfriend was due to pick her back up. She also had yet to call him like he’d asked her too so after combining all those details Andrew found himself growing mildly concerned although his instincts told him not to become unduly alarmed. After all, he reasoned that Joy had probably been doing the same thing he had since he’d left her which was to lay low. She’d looked pretty drained when he’d let her into the café earlier so it was reasonable to assume that she’d probably fallen asleep which was exactly what he would have done in her position. Even so, Andrew still had to go over there anyway to close the café back up.

While Andrew collected his things and locked up his office space upstairs he couldn’t help but think about Joy and how her boyfriend had failed to make an appearance. Something very well could have detained or delayed him but Andrew found it hard to imagine something standing between a Man and his lover when such an obvious crisis was going on around them. Then again, Andrew reminded himself that he knew nothing about the couple or the dynamics of their relationship and therefore it was wrong for him to make any assumptions or judgments about the matter.

Once he was ready to go it was on to the café.

At first it seemed as if Joy wasn’t there because when he arrived from across the street the seat he’ left her in was empty and the café was quiet as a church save noise of the ceiling fans. Andrew new she hadn’t left however; At least not by car. The next logical place to look was the café’s basement and makeshift break room. When Andrew had told joy to go into the back if she got too warm, he had figured she would discover the hall leading to the basement door on her own. Unfortunately when he checked the rarely used staff room in the basement, Joy was nowhere to be seen.

For a brief moment real worry began to creep into Andrew’s mind Had Joy actually been picked up after all or, for one reason or another, had she left the café on her own accord? Forcing himself to refocus and not jump to any unfounded conclusions, Andrew calmed and went back out into the main dining area to look about a second time. This time he noticed that the stool Joy had been sitting on when he’d left her was gone. That was all the indication of Joy’s remaining presence he needed in order to make an educated guess of where Joy had gone and why. His conclusion caused a grin to ooze onto his face.

“You know its dangerous to fall asleep in one of these things. For one this unit doesn’t have the best ventilation system and for another this door here tends to stick from the inside.” Andrew remarked upon pulling open the door to the walk in refrigeration unit and allowing his gaze to fall on the reclined and formerly sleeping form of Joy.

Still a little groggy from her nap Joy yawned and squinted up at him before a sudden feeling of a alarm nearly knocked her over in the seat. “Jesus, what time is it?”

“It’s after six by now. You know when I said to come back here if it got to unbearable out in the main restaurant it wasn’t Maribeth’s fridge that I had in mind for you to sit in.”

“It wasn’t?” Joy raised an eyebrow in a confused manner.

“No it wasn’t. There’s actually A lower level to the café which you would have found the door to if you’d gone down the hall the opposite way. Its my fault really. I should have been more clear.” The corner of Andrews mouth quivered lightly as he tried to suppress the urge to laugh.

“Huh. I see. Well I guess this worked out well enough. Anyway what do you mean its after six? That can’t be possible.” It was difficult for Joy to believe that she’d been camped out in the refrigerator unit that long.

“See for yourself if you don’t believe me.” Andrew passed his cellular phone over to Joy so that she could look at its digital clock and confirm the time.

“But Clay was supposed to pick me up at five thirty.” She protested while passing the phone back to him and sitting up fully.

“While that might be the case I can tell you with almost complete certainty that no one has come down that street with a vehicle since I left you here.” He replied.

“Damn it. Damn you, Clay! I’m so sick of his bull shit. This isn’t the first time he’s done something like this to me.” Joy explained vehemently. “Why did I think that today was going to be different than any other day? You know the whole reason I agreed to come out to this God forsaken place was because Clay promised me we were going to try and work on showing a stronger level of commitment to each other. Well? I committed by coming out here so where the hell is he?”

Andrew didn’t bother to comment on the state of Joy’s relationship instead he simply shook his head. “Why don’t you come out of there and we’ll figure something out O.K.?”

Joy agreed and a few minutes later they were both back in the front of the restaurant again.

“I’m sure I don’t know what could be keeping your boyfriend but my offer from earlier still stands. I’ll drive you home or wherever else you need.” Andrew offered again.

“I don’t see what other choice I have.” Joy replied with a defeated shrug.

“Instead of just going straight home I do have an alternative proposition for you to consider first. I don’t know if you’ve been listening to the radio reports, but things are pretty dire out there right now and I get the impression that this heat wave isn’t about to let up any time soon. Now a town council meeting has been called for a little later tonight after the sun goes down and the heat backs off a little and everyone has an opportunity to gather themselves. I think under the circumstances you should come to the meeting with me. I know your boyfriend is still MIA but this isn’t the time to be ignorant about who your neighbors are and what makes this town tick.” Andrew advised her.

“As I’ve already promised I’m more than willing to drive you home afterwards but if your boyfriend doesn’t show up in the next few hours I want you to think about staying with Maribeth or one of the other families until he does. I have a bad feeling that this entire ordeal is going to get a lot worse before it can even begin to get better.” He continued.

“I suppose your right about me staying with someone else. I don’t really want to be alone tonight under the circumstances.” Joy agreed. “But what makes you say that? About the weather I mean.”

When Andrew had made his fatalistic prediction about the state of things a creeping shiver had run up her back.

“I feel it. That’s all. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong. Anyway regardless of what might or might not happen there’s liable to be a lot of scared people tonight once everything is laid out to its proper scope.” Andrew sighed and, for the first time since joy had met him, his features revealed real worry under the calm and steady surface of his exterior. “Do you have any means of contacting your boyfriend or letting him know where you’ve gone?”

Joy’s sigh of pensive exasperation said it all.

“No. the best I could do would be to call the place we’re renting and leave a message on the machine. Hopefully I can at least count on him to check that whenever he gets back from wherever he’s been.” Joy made a mental note to do something horrible to clay when she saw him next for abandoning her at a time like this.

Andrew nodded and tossed his cell phone to her. “Do it and we’ll go from there.”

Joy did call home but as feared no one picked up on the other side like she had been secretly hoping and Joy was forced to leave a lengthy message explaining several points of contact that Andrew was nice enough to provide her with as well as a few unrepeatable remarks about how she was feeling at that particular moment. Meanwhile Andrew took the opportunity while she talked to close up the café per his promise to Maribeth. It was approaching 6:45 by the time their errands were complete and Andrew had escorted Joy outside and across the street to his Ford Escape.

Once they were safely in the car and ready to leave neither he nor Joy spoke for several minutes. As was to be expected the Ford Escape was oven hot on the inside despite that the sun had pretty much set and it took a little while of them sitting parked for the duo to acclimate and for the air conditioning to adequately kick in. Happily for everyone involved Andrew kept his vehicle in perfect working order at all times so it didn’t take long for the cabin to become comfortable enough for them to drive.

“So um, what’s your story?” Joy finally asked when the silence in the vehicle began to make her nervous.

“My story?” the question felt abrupt and awkward in the air between them. “The family name is Mclean. When I Think about it I suppose I’m the fifth generation to settle down here in Weary Eye.”

“Wow. You must be pretty proud of that. I mean as a family legacy and all.” She remarked.

Andrew smiled slightly. “Not really. To tell you the truth I don’t really think about it very much.” He replied

“Oh. Are you’re parents happy here?” Since it looked like Andrew was going out of his way to help her again Joy figured that they might as well get better acquainted

“I think they were. Both of them were born here after all and Weary Eye tends to retain its natural natives n one way or another. After my mom died my father took on a decidedly nostalgic mindset about there time together here. In fact he used to joke that the only way anybody would ever get him to leave was if they carried him out in a pine wood box and even at that he always threatened to smite me from beyond the grave if it so much as ever occurred to me to bury him anywhere else. One of his many half jokes ya see.” Andrew glanced sidelong and Joy periodically as he drove them through the main stretch of town.

“Anyway my Dad dies about five years after my mom passed. They were both in their early seventies when they went so I’d say they lived a rather long and contented life together.” Andrew surmised.

“Their seventies, eh? That makes you what? About forty-six? Forty-seven?” Joy couldn’t help but feel surprised. He’d seemed a lot younger than what she was now estimating.

Andrew chuckled lightly to himself. “Actually I’m thirty-five. My mother Julie Ann was very nearly forty when I happened to come along. I guess you might say I was something of a unexpected surprise. I was a New Year baby as a matter of fact.
“Incredible.” Joy couldn’t help but smile for a reason she couldn’t name. “Is that why your still here? To honor your mother and father?”

Andrew scoffed good-naturedly.

“Like I said before, Weary Eye has a way of getting under your skin if you were born to it. I went away in the beginning. I wanted to get away from small town living and study in New York. Somehow the imagery of life just seemed more exciting to me in the Big Apple than it did here. I went for business school and was seriously contemplating a jump into studying law when I suddenly got word from back home that my mother was dying. Kidney failure. It was ironic considering she never drank a day in her life with the exception of her wedding. Since I was almost done with my business degree I finished that out in New York and then came back here to help out with things. After that mom eventually passed away and it just seemed logical that I stick around.” He explained.

“I’m sorry about your parents.” Joy suddenly felt a tad conscious about bring up the potentially sensitive subject.

“Don’t be.” Andrew said reassuringly. “Sometimes you just have to trust in nature’s plan. My parents always believed in that philosophy and so do I. Besides if I ever had a good enough reason to feel unhappy here I’d leave and go back to New York City.”

The car took a left on its way to the multipurpose building that served as Weary Eye’s city hall, school, place of worship, and recreational center when it wasn’t being used for anything else.

“I get the impression that you’ve moved around a lot. It’s just an assumption, but am I right?” Andrew asked since they were on the topic of their personal histories.

By now Andrew had pulled them into the parking lot around the side of the multipurpose building. The meeting was set for eight o’clock and it was just communing up on seven so the duo had a little bit of time to kill before they had to be inside. Since neither felt too enthusiastic about leaving the refuge of the car’s air conditioning, Andrew made the executive decision to park with the engine running.

“My grandfather was a widowed military man and so he and my mom moved around a lot while she was growing up. I was born on an Air force base in Montana. We stayed there until I was out of diapers and then my mom borrowed a few grand from my grandfather so that she and I could find a place of our own. Unfortunately my mother could never make up her mind about anything important. That’s just the way she is. So by the time I was sixteen or so we’d lived in just about every state along the west coast that there was at one time or another. I don’t think I stayed in a single school for more than two years at time.” Joy paused and flashed him a flat smile.

“Eventually we settled in New Orleans which was the city that my mom’s old Cadillac just happened to break down in. After that she never bothered to get it fixed and we ended up settling there permanently. I was kind of impressed by her staying power to tell you the truth. Mom stayed put after that up until the carnage of hurricane Katrina forced her out. As for me I’d bailed out the year I’d turned eighteen. In the years between the time we moved to New Orleans and Katrina I drifted across country. Nowhere special. Mom in with her dad in Montana after Katrina and somewhere along the way I met Clay and started traveling with him. And now here I am.” Joy concluded with a blasé shrug.

“It seems like you’ve lived an interesting life so far.” Andrew commented kindly and without judgment.

Joy smiled at him. “Yeah. You too.”

“So now what?” She asked before taking a big cleansing breath and stretching in her seat.

“Now we get to the town meeting. You know, like I said before, despite the unfortunate circumstances this should give you a good opportunity to get to know a lot of the other faces in town. If nothing else Maribeth will be here for sure and probably a good percentage of the other business owners and their families.” Andrew mentioned as he turned off his car.

Joy considered this likelihood with curiosity. “Just how big is Weary Eye’s population?”

“The population is around one hundred. Give or take. There are about eight key families who run most of the services and commercial businesses in the community. Everyone else is generally transplants from somewhere else that have ended up settling in Weary Eye long term for one reason or another. There’s probably going to be one rep from every family grouping if not every individual household here tonight.” Andrew explained.

After that there was a pregnant pause and both Andrew and Joy waited where they sat.
“I should probably mention something although I’m sure you’re already well aware.” Andrew continued after a thoughtful moment. “This heat wave ripping through the area is bound to cause a lot of problems for this town. This is mostly because it’s so remote and isolated from any of the other cities and towns around it. There might be families in there tonight who have just lost people. I just thought I’d prepare you for that. There’s going to be a lot of justified fear and worry in there tonight.” Andrew gave Joy a chance to process what he’d just said.

Her equally thoughtful response surprised him.

“Are you afraid?” She gently replied with the question after a time.

Andrew let his gaze drift from the driver’s side window he’d been looking out of while they talked to Joy’s own gaze.

“No. I’m not afraid. Like I’ve said I trust in nature’s plan and this heat wave is apart of that as far as I’m concerned. But,” Andrew chose his next words carefully. “I know most of the people gathering in there who are going to lose something in all of this in on way or another if they haven’t already aren’t going to feel the same way I do about it.”

Joy nodded.

“I have a lot of friends in this town and those that aren’t are usually at least the friends and acquaintances of those that are. So naturally I intend to do what I can to help and be there for them.” He finished shutting his eyes.

“Of course.” Joy said taken slightly aback by the man’s sense of compassion for his fellow countrymen.

Joy was genuinely convinced that Andrew not only meant every word that he said, but was also entirely capable of making good on it. By now more cars were beginning to arrive and people were beginning to assemble.

“We should really get in there soon. Are you ready to go?” Andrew inquired lightly after he took a silent cleansing breath and undid his seatbelt.

“As ready as anyone can be.” Joy replied while she pulled her own seatbelt off.

Nodding to each other both Joy and Andrew took another big cleansing breath, this time in unison, and opened their respective doors so that they could head inside with the rest of the towns people.