Words of Barrett

Alright, you’ve read Damaged in Service, maybe you’ve even started Defying Gravity…or not. (There’s still time, both are available at Amazon, Affinity eBooks , or Barnes and Noble)

But for the wonderfully insatiable Zeke-Freaks out here, I shall provide a quick scene from the Book 3 work-in-progress…

****

Zeke jumped when the garage door opened. Running to the door primed to pounce for the aggravation that she had endured. “Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been…what were you thinking?” Zeke’s accusations echoed in the large garage.

***

Anne stood stock-still like a deer in the headlights, brought up short from her rather pleasant beer buzz by a screaming banshee; it was not a good feeling. They stood face to face, both buzzing with adrenalin, both breathing heavily, but now, it was Anne getting angry. “Are you just about finished screaming at me?” Anne said calmly, belying her growing rage. Shouldering her bag, she then slammed the car door.

Zeke stood her ground. “I have been worried sick, I was afraid that you had been picked up again and that I wouldn’t be able…”Her voice cracked.

“Stop. Just stop shouting!” said Anne a bit louder than necessary. “Christ. I am not going to stand in the garage freezing my ass off while you berate me with ridiculous questions. I’m going in the house.” She pulled her cooler out of the back seat, slammed the door again and went into the house.

***

Zeke stood rooted the spot, weaving, hyperventilating and feeling fear and anger tearing at her, alternately. She reached out for the hood of Anne’s car to steady herself from the lightheadedness. She wanted to run and she wanted to break something, and she wanted to cry. What’s happening?

It took ten minutes before Zeke composed herself enough to come into the kitchen. She found Anne at the stove stirring a steaming pot with one hand and drinking a beer with the other. She went to the other side of the island and stood facing Anne. “I’m sorry if I yelled…I was worried,” she said softly.

Anne paused, her eyes dark, then slammed the wooden spoon on the stovetop. “Clearly you do not recall me telling you last night that I was going to Mountainair—which, as I told you, is nearly thirty miles south of here on two-lane roads, with a technician to learn to set up a telemetry unit.” She spat each word clearly. “You may also recall that there is no cell coverage. I should think, with your remarkable memory that it would have been simple to recall…if, you had been listening to me.”

Zeke remembered the word Mountainair, and that she had tuned out the rest of the conversation. Properly chastised, she sat down at the table holding her throbbing head while her heart continued to jack-hammer in her heaving chest. This felt so out of character. Zeke rarely over-reacted. Even worse, Anne did not seem to be in a listening frame of mind. Besides, this was not Anne’s problem. An icy fear pushed up into Zeke’s chest.

Anne didn’t let up. “I was going to tell you about the difficulty with the patient and the installation and why we stopped for a beer; but that can wait for some other time.” After she finished setting out the plates and sitting down, Anne took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know what’s going on with these wild mood swings, Zeke, but I will not be a verbal punching bag, not again, not ever.”

They ate chili in silence.  Zeke cleaned up the kitchen while Anne went up to take a bath. An icy stillness dominated the remainder of the evening. Since Anne chose to read, Zeke opted for a long walk before bed hoping she could engage the logical part of her brain. Clearly, Anne was safe and still pissed. And Zeke’s behavior–inexcusable.

The effect of the cold dark night was bracing and emotionally sobering. There were only a few houses lit and the leafless trees afforded a clear view of the black night sky replete with an extraordinary number of small twinkling dots. The air smelled cold and crisp and Zeke felt safe in the forest surrounded by the giant oak and pine sentinels stretching up to the night sky, which had remained a constant for the millennia of troubled men and women looking to the heavens for reassurance and strength. Homes in communities of urban sprawl provided a network of connection but the perpetual solidarity of earth and sky provided the life giving energy. Zeke calmed and redirected after walking.

Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by.