The Long Wait

After his friends had left the only customers were Mac and two other men who were nearly drunk. Emily had cleaned and closed off the café side of the building and was sitting behind the bar resting. She looked exhausted. Finally she straightened up and said, "Ok guys. It's Ten. Time to close it up and go home."

The two drunks tried to talk her into just one more but she was adamant. Finally they took their partly full bottles and wandered out into the parking lot. Mac walked up to the cash register and waited for Emily to tally up his bill. His bill came to a little less than $13.00. Emily smiled and said, "I still have your change from lunch. Let me see what it'll be with that taken off Mac."

"Whoa there Em. You don't have change for me. That was your tip." He handed her $14.00 and said, "Here ya go. This should cover tonight."

Emily stood looking at him and then down at the money. "I don't know what to say Mac. Hell I never get tips here. Lots of times when someone leaves extra money on the table they ask for it back the next time they're in. Look, I know things are tight for you. You don't have to tip me for doing my job."

"Emily what I had tonight would cost sixteen or eighteen dollars in town. I don't have a problem with giving you what I did at noon or tonight. You deserve it. Do you serve breakfast?"

Emily nodded her head yes. "Yeah. I open at 0630 and close the café at eight. I close the bar at ten Monday through Thursday and at 11 Friday and midnight Saturday. Mac smiled and said, "Well, guess I'll see ya tomorrow morning then. Catch ya later."

Mac had his breakfast at The Mustang then took off for town. He had to arrange for electricity as his first priority then he went to the Home Depot for lumber, some new windows and doors for his house. He also purchased new faucets for the sinks and some drywall to patch the holes and paint for all the rooms downstairs. He ordered a new refrigerator and washer and dryer too. He hoped the kitchen range would still work. This took almost $4000.00 of his cash and he still had to buy carpet for the downstairs.

It took Mac almost a month to get the repairs done to the downstairs. He replaced all the windows and both doors. He put in new linoleum for the kitchen, bath and laundry room as well as carpet in the other rooms. That was another $2836.00 for the floor coverings. He found out the heating and air unit needed repair—another $723 down the drain there. He bought a cheap used dining table and chairs and a sofa and recliner for the living room. He splurged on a new King size bed for himself. The furniture took another $3197.00. His little nest egg was down to about $13,000.00 after he factored in his other miscellaneous expenses like utility deposits, exterior paint and repairs to buildings and his farm machinery. He still had to till the land and buy seed for his winter wheat crop. He intended to make the land as productive as he could.

At least he didn't have to take his everyday living expenses from his bank account. He averaged working part of two to three days a week on some type of repair or welding for locals. That gave him some spending money and enough to cover his day to day expenses besides. After the house was completed he got his old tractor running then used it to pull the drill so he could verify it operated correctly.

After the tractor was running well he took it out into the fields and began bush hogging the brush and weeds. At first he was going to no till the seeds in but decided there was just too much undergrowth for that. When he got near his house he saw a truck sitting in his drive. He drove up and saw one of his parent's younger friends sitting watching him. Jess was getting up in his 70's now but he was still spry.

"Howdy Boy. I saw you running the old tractor and I just had to stop by and watch. Been a long time since I saw ole Minnie out working. You doin' ok? You sure have made the old place look better in the last two months."

"Yeah Jess. Guess I'm doing ok. I feel like I'm never going to get caught up." He patted the old yellow and white tractor and continued, "Ya know they just don't make tractors like these old Minneapolis Moline's any longer. It's simple to work on and pulls like a champ. It doesn't go as fast as the newer ones but it'll still be running when they're in the junkyard."

"Yep. Glad ya kept her. Your Poppa sure did like that old tractor. Are you going to plant a crop too son?"

"Yeah. Think I'll put in at least a hundred acres of wheat. I have about ten or twelve acres around the house I can't plant but I think I'll put the rest of the tillable land in corn. I'll follow the wheat with soybeans if it's not too dry next summer."

The two friends visited for a few more minutes then Mac returned to work. Things were going well so he worked until a little after midnight. He had almost two thirds of his land bush hogged now and was feeling good about his accomplishments.

As soon as he finished bush hogging Mac began planting his wheat. He had sprayed with roundup before he cut the weeds and hoped he had killed enough his crop would do OK. He hated paying for the seed and fertilizer but it was necessary. His little nest egg was down to just over $4000.00 now. It was also the slow part of the season for repairs. Now he was only getting three or four full days of work a month average as the winter progressed.

Mac was preparing most of his own meals now but he still occasionally dropped into The Mustang for a burger or beer. He found himself trying to time his visits so he had time to visit with Emily. One Tuesday evening he and Emily were alone in the bar when she turned to him and said, "Mac what happened to you? You used to be full of fun and happiness. Now I can't even find the boy you used to be in the man you are."

"Well Em I guess I found out life is a bitch and women are selfish self centered...Oh, hell, I really don't know for sure. It just seems like I'm out of step with the way people are now. I'm a straight shooter and what you see is pretty much what you get. I don't like playing games with people and teasing or promising something I'm not going to give out. Seems like most folks that is all they do now. People in the city seem to try to make themselves look good by making others look bad, by stabbing them in the back. I still think you should make yourself look good by working hard, being honest and giving a full day's work for a day's pay. I got burned a time or two and led on more times than I want to think about and it hurt a lot Em. I just gave up. Hell, I was almost ready to quit my job and move on before I got laid off."

"Whatever happened to you and Martha? I thought you were made for each other. You went to Springville together and then she came back with some other citified dude. One day she and he came in here and I asked about you. She refused to talk about you and claimed she didn't know where you got to."

Mac laughed and she saw the pain in his face. "I guess part of that was my fault. I just got tired of her games. We were like most kids I guess. We were young and horny all the time but... well she was more interested in working me up and playing hard to get. I got laid some but a lot of times when I got ready to perform the deed she would push me away and tell me she wasn't horny. Hell I knew she was horny. Shit, she was moaning and ready for me but she was into her little games. She wanted to be wined and dined and to be begged for her favors. She wanted me to make her feel special and needed she said. Hell, I told her I needed her and I loved her but she said I needed to be more emphatic about it whatever that means.

"One night we were in her bed and all over each other. I had been using her toys on her and she had been working me up higher and higher. I put her toy down and started to uh. Well anyway she pushed me away and said she wasn't in the mood anymore and for me to go away. I guess I just lost it and unloaded on her. I called her a prick teasing little bitch. I told her I was tired of putting up with her games then I left."

"Why did you do that? Why didn't you just finish what you'd started Mac?"

"You're kidding right? You know I couldn't do that. She got what she needed and told me NO. Hell, I thought I loved her why would I want to force her to do something she said she didn't want to do any longer? Besides no man should force himself on a woman and I refuse to do that. I gave her a piece of mind and I left. I talked to her on the phone a time or two after that but I never saw her again. Last I heard she had been running with a bunch of college girls who thought it was real funny to prick tease and send their men home with blue balls."

"What about other girls? Hell, you're a nice man. Surely there were other girls you liked. Why aren't you married Mac?"

"Well I was so hurt I didn't date for a while after Martha. Then I started looking for love in all the wrong places I guess. I went with several women but I found right quick a bar is a bad place to find a good woman. They all either cheated on me or were playing games with me so I just quit. Hell, I hadn't had a date in almost six months when I moved back here. You know I've not had one since I got here."

"But what do you do about..." Emily blushed and dropped her head.

"Well, Em I guess I don't want to talk about that. I don't see you dating either. Want to tell me what you do about things?"

Emily blushed and bit her lip. She shook her head no and whispered, "No. I'm sorry Mac. It's none of my business. I know what you mean about people and bars. As for the games I think I know about them too. I saw a lot of the girls in school and some of the women who come in here leading the men on and teasing about things like that."

Mac and Emily renewed their old friendship. He spent many pleasant evenings and some afternoons visiting with her after that but they never touched on intimate subjects again. It was an icy, snowy night in early February when things changed for them once again. Mac had gone to bed but was not sleeping yet when he heard sirens. They came screaming past his house and then stopped almost immediately. He could see the flashing of red lights in his bedroom. He rose and looked out the window. There was a fire at the edge of town near The Mustang. Mac threw on his clothes and rushed from his house. He took his truck out of the garage and drove toward town. When he got to The Mustang he saw two local Rural Fire Trucks beside a small burning house at the edge of the parking lot. The lot was rapidly filling with sight seers.

Mac walked as close as he could to the fire and found Emily standing watching the fire. She was crying and trying to get past the fireman holding her. "Let me go damn you. I've gotta get in there. Everything I own is in there except for the business."

"No Emily. You know I can't do that. Now please stay here so I can help the boys try and put out the fire."

Mac walked up and pulled Emily away from the fireman. "You go on," he said. He pulled her into his embrace and said, "I'll take care of Emily."

Emily looked up at Mac and wrapped her arms around him. She cried into his chest and shivered from the cold as she watched her home burn. "Mac what am I going to do? All of my things are there. Everything I have of Moms and Dads is there. Please Mac. I've got to save some of it."

Mac was trying to decide what to do, what to tell her when there was a huge shower of sparks and the roof of the small house collapsed down into the building. Emily watched and cried harder once more as she saw her home fully engulfed in flames.

Mac took off his coat and wrapped her in it. He stood holding her as they watched the fire. Finally it had burned down and everyone but one fire truck left. It was staying to be sure the fire did not flare up once more and spread.

Mac turned and guided Emily back to her small business. "Come on Em. Let's lock up and you can come home with me. It's not much but you can bunk on my couch until you get things straightened out."

Neither Mac nor Emily slept well the remainder of the night. He heard her moving around just after seven the next morning. When he came into the living room she was standing staring out the window at the smoke still rising from her burned out home. It was Sunday and she normally didn't open the café on Sundays.

Mac walked up behind Emily and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry as hell about the fire Em. Why don't I see about some coffee right now? We'll drink a couple cups then have breakfast before we go see what needs to be done."

"Ok Mac. Thank you so much for letting me stay here last night. I hate to impose on you but could you maybe take me to town for some things I'm going to need? They wouldn't even let me get my car out of the carport so I lost it too. I don't have any way to get around now. One of the first things I'll have to do is buy a car. I usually do all my shopping on Sundays since it's the only day I don't work."

"Sure Em. I need some things too so we can go to the store whenever you want."

Shortly after 0830 Mac and Emily drove over to see what was left of her house. He drove up to the edge of her little yard. Emily sat in the truck looking at the smoke still rising from the ashes of her home. He heard her sniffle and turned to see her quietly crying. Every so often she would wipe her cheeks with her fingers. "It wasn't much but it was all I had. My old car was on its last legs too but at least it ran. I only had liability insurance on it because it was so old and I needed to save money. I can't even replace it from insurance. I only had the house insured for $27,500. I know I can't buy or rebuild for that. Oh Mac what am I going to do? I have a little cot in the store room at The Mustang so I can rest during the day but I can't live there. I don't make enough to pay rent or a mortgage if I rebuild my house. Maybe I can buy an old trailer or something."

"Don't worry about it now Em. Let's get to the store and buy what we need then we'll go back home and do some planning for you. You're going to have to call the insurance company first thing Monday for sure. You can stay with me for a while until you get things figured out."

Emily bought two pair of jeans, four blouses and one dress, some under things and her feminine needs at Wal-Mart. She also loaded up her cart with the food items she would need to prepare meals at the café during the next week. She had found it cheaper to buy things at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club than get them off the delivery trucks. Normally she had her car trunk and back seat full when she left town on Sundays.

When they left the store Emily turned to Mac and said, "Mac I know it's a few miles farther but would you mind taking me to Sam's Club too. I really need to buy some things for the business too."

When they got to Sam's Mac told Emily to do her shopping and he would meet her at the truck when she was done. As soon as they separated Mac went back to the furniture sales area and picked out a mattress and spring set. Then he went and picked out a comfortable recliner to match the one he already had in his living room. He paid for these items and had them help him load them onto the back of his truck with their other purchases.

When Emily came out with her flat cart full of items she stopped beside the truck. Mac got out and began loading her purchases onto his flat bed. Emily said, "Mac what's all that furniture on there for?"

"Well Em I had planned to buy another mattress and chair sometime so I decided to get them now. That little couch isn't that comfortable to lie on and I thought you could use the bed. I can make a frame for it in an hour or so it the mattress won't fit on the one that is in one of the bedrooms upstairs now. Until ya get things settled you're welcome to use one of the upstairs rooms. It won't cost ya anything and I'll stay out of your hair that way."

Emily felt the tears run down her cheeks as Mac told her what he had done. "Oh, Mac I couldn't. That wouldn't be right to take advantage of you like that. Now you go on and return those things. I know you can't afford to spend all that money. We've talked about your income and I know things are tight for you. Hell, I'll figure something out."

"No Em. It's a done deal. I'm keeping them even if you don't stay. If you're worried about living with me I can build a stairway to the top floor deck and we can lock the inside stairway door so I can't get up there to bother ya."

"NO! That's not what I'm worrying about. If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have spent last night on your couch. I just can't take advantage of ya that way."

The friends argued back and forth all the way back home. Finally Mac agreed to let Emily feed him and give him free beer at her business as her rent on his upstairs bedroom."

It took almost five weeks for her insurance company to settle with Emily. She got $32,500 for her house and the contents. When the check arrived in the mail Emily excitedly showed it to Mac. "At least I owned the old house free and clear. I wish now I had paid for the policy with the full replacement value instead of the cheapest one I could find. I still don't have enough to build a new house and furnish it but maybe I can find something to live in with this amount. I suppose I'll use a lot of it for a new car or maybe an SUV. Would you go shopping with me for a car soon please Mac?"

The weekend after her check came Emily and Mac closed the bar and he drove her home. She had brought a box of her favorite wine back with her. When they got into the house she turned to Mac and said, "Mac I don't feel like going to bed right now. Would you like to sit up and visit for a while?"

It was a little after midnight and they had each had two glasses of wine. Mac was feeling his alcohol because he had drank four beers while he was waiting on Emily to close and finish cleaning the bar. He was sitting sipping his wine and listening to Emily drone on. He was sure he was missing a lot of what she said and felt slightly guilty about it.

"MAC! Did you hear anything I just said?"

Mac felt his face get red and he stammered, "I'm sorry Em. I guess I'm pretty tired and my mind was wandering."

Emily sat looking at Mac a moment then said, "Mac I asked you a question. I really appreciate you letting me live here but it just isn't right. I'm not paying my way and you just ignore me." She sniffled a little, wiped a tear from her cheek with her fingers and continued, "Mac what's wrong with me? I think you like me but you never touch me and you haven't even tried to take me to bed or anything. I see you looking at me some evenings when I'm lounging around the house and on Sundays but you just look at me a minute then look away.

"I used to have a lot of men looking at me and wanting to touch me. Now all I get is dirty comments from the drunks. Why don't nice men look at me and want me?"

Mac sat there and looked at Emily as her shoulders shook and she cried quietly. She continued, "Dammit Mac. I'm a woman and I want the same things other women want. I want a good man and children but all I have is that damn little hole in the wall business. I don't even have a home any longer. What the hell is wrong with me Mac?"

Mac felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to run away but his friend needed him. How the hell did he handle this? Emily needed something from him and he didn't know what to tell her. Finally he got out of his recliner and walked up to hers. He reached out and pulled her from the chair then led her back to his. He sat in his chair and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest as she quietly cried.

Mac looked down at Emily and said, "Emily I don't know what to say. I'm your friend and I always will be. I know what you mean about a family and someone to love. I want the same thing and I couldn't find it. Now all I do is work and try to make ends meet like you do. I guess I should go to town weekends and look for something but it's like I said the last time we had a little heart to heart. You are looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find a good woman in a bar. Hell, you said the same thing about men. The few unmarried people our age around here sure aren't good catches either.