Always On My Mind

I was steaming and she could see it. "Remember, you promised," she reminded me. Then she giggled and said, "The reason I'm so mad is I didn't get a chance to slap the hell out of him."

Looking at Cheryl I could see a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. I grabbed her and pulled her onto my lap and started laughing.

Let's just say we were both very tired the next day. Our weekend was even better; we packed the kids off to my parents and seldom got out of the bedroom except to shower and eat. Saturday evening, actually Sunday morning about 1 AM we fed each other strawberries dipped in chocolate sitting on and at the kitchen table. We didn't have on anything but a smile. Great weekend.

I asked Cheryl, almost every day, if Gary had said anymore to her.

"No, he hasn't. He just gives me a smirk and raises his eyebrows up and down. But he hasn't said a word to me," she replied. "I can handle his smirks okay."

**********

I consider myself to be an honorable man. If I give someone my word, I keep it. However, there's always a however, I broke my promise to Cheryl. I had a talk with Mr. Gary Stewart. We discussed the situation like gentlemen and he agreed to stop his little games concerning Cheryl.

What actually happened was I went to see Stewart at his apartment the next Saturday. Cheryl and my Mom were taking the kids to a school carnival and I told her I could amuse myself for two or three hours. After Cheryl and the kids left, I made my preparations and drove to Stewart's apartment.

I used the service elevator in the rear of building. No one saw me. I was dressed in a work shirt, jeans, and a ball cap pulled down over my eyes. If anyone did see me they wouldn't recognize me and I could claim I hadn't been there. Plausible deniability is what the politicians call it.

Gary was almost shocked when he opened his door to see me standing there.

"Hi Gary, can we talk for a minute?" I asked with a phony smile.

"Don't have anything to say to you Jackson," he answered and started to close the door.

I put my shoulder against the door and pushed. It caught Gary off balance and he stepped back into his apartment.

"Well I've got something to say to you Stewart." I closed the door behind me as I entered his place. "I want you to leave Cheryl alone. No more cheesy grins or smiles and no more messing with her mind. Do that and we won't have a problem."

"Why should I stop? That bitch reported me to the Stanton's and caused me a lot of trouble. I'll continue to screw with her. Who knows I may just use the "I'm so sorry" attitude and get close to her again," he said with a grin. "And this time I won't stop with a few lunches. I know she's mad right now but that will pass. It won't be long before she's coming to me."

I knew this wouldn't be easy, I thought as my anger started to build. Clenching my fists I said, "Guess it's gonna have to be plan B."

Gary saw my fists and the anger in my face. "What plan B little man?

"If you won't listen to reason, I'll have to use another way to make you leave us alone."

"Be careful now," he said with a laugh. "If you're not man enough to keep your wife what makes you think you're man enough to handle me?"

"You're a miserable piece of crap Stewart. And I'll see to it that you will leave Cheryl alone, one way or another." I stared at him in defiance. My friend John had it right; Stewart was about 6'4. He was not only tall but he had a big body. Must weigh close to 250, I thought.

"I've had enough of you little man," Gary said. "Get out or I'll throw you out." He took two quick steps and hit me with a big fist.

As I staggered backward he hit me again. I put a hand on the wall and caught myself and kept from going down. When Stewart picked up a big brass table lamp, I guess he was going to beat my head in with it, so I made my move.

I kicked him in the knee with the steel toed work boots I'd put on before I left home. A straight right hand to his nose made him take a few steps backwards. Damn he was tall, I thought. I had to reach up to hit him. When he recovered and started toward me again, I pulled a Colt 1911 .45 cal pistol. Another thing I'd grabbed before I left home. I'd carried it in the small of my back, under my belt, and covered with my jacket.

Stewart stopped when he saw the Colt. He looked at the barrel of the pistol, then at my face and then back to the pistol. Gary wasn't sure that I wouldn't shoot him. I could see it in his eyes as he looked from me to the gun and back several times.

I had to hand it to him, he had courage or maybe it was stupidity. He said, "You don't have the guts to shoot me."

"I've never understood why people think it takes courage to face a man barehanded when he's six inches taller and 60 to 70 pounds heavier than you," I told him as I waved him to a chair with the barrel of the 45. He sat down and I added, "To me it's not courage it's just plain dumb. You know? I guess we'll find out won't we," I continued giving him a hard look.

He was sitting in a wooden Captain's chair with wide thick legs. I put a round into the chair leg right next to Stewart's leg. "You or the chair," I told him. "Don't make much difference to me."

"You'll go to jail for this," he threatened.

"No I won't. I wasn't even here. It's your word against mine."

Stewart got a little smile on his face as if he knew a secret. I guess he thought the police would check me for gunshot residue when he reported me. I knew what he was thinking and I had made preparations.

"One last time, just so you understand," I said. "Pay attention big man. Leave Cheryl alone. Don't talk to her, don't walk by her desk, and don't smile at her. If she's in the bar when you walk in, leave. If you're in the bar and she comes in, leave. If she's in the elevator up to your offices, wait for the next one. You won't like the alternative if you don't."

I put round into the other chair leg. "Next time it will be you and I won't bother shooting at your legs." I paused for several seconds and stared him in the eye. "You understand my meaning big man? I'll put you down like a rabid dog if you bother Cheryl again."

Leaving the apartment building I again used the service elevator and didn't see one person. I figured I had about two hours before the police showed up. Stewart is calling them right now, I thought. But I'd made preparations for that too.

I was wrong. It took the police closer to three hours to track me down. They found me at my friend John's place of business. He owns and manages a gun club. The club has an indoor range and rents shooting bays by the hour. If you rent a bay, they stamp a time card when you start and again when you finish.

"Mr. Jackson, we'd like a word with you please," requested one of the two officers. He was the older of the two, probably about 40. The younger one is training with a veteran, I thought.

"Okay, let me safe my gun first." I ejected the clip, worked the action to clear the barrel and locked the slide open. "What can I do for you Officer?"

"Let's step out of the shooting area so we can hear each other, shall we?"

I left the now empty Colt on the shooting bench and followed them out. When the door closed behind us it shut off the noise of the gunfire. The older policeman looked at me and I waited for him to speak. I'm sure he was trying to see if I was nervous or acted guilty.

"I'm Sgt. Riley, this is Officer Stone." I nodded at the introduction but didn't say anything. "Do you know a Gary Stewart?"

"Yeah, I know him. Can't say I think much of him but I know him. Why?"

"Bear with me for a minute please. When was the last time you saw Mr. Stewart?" Sgt. Riley was watching me closely.

I looked up at the ceiling as if I was trying to remember. "Guess it was at the Stanton's Christmas party a few months ago. Why?"

The Sgt. started to ask another question but I interrupted. "Sgt. Riley, why the questions about Stewart? Maybe I should get a lawyer before I answer any more questions."

The officer sighed, gave me a little smile and answered, "By all means if you think you need an attorney we can take you down to the station and wait for him before questioning you." He paused to see my reaction to his threat and continued, "Mr. Stewart has filed a complaint against you. He said you came to his apartment today, beat him up, and threatened to shoot him. He said you fired your pistol twice," Sgt. Riley pointed back toward the Colt on the bench.

"Why would I do something like that? I asked.

"Mr. Stewart said that your wife and he were good friends and that you didn't like the attention your wife gave him. He said you warned him to leave your wife alone and threatened to kill him if he didn't. Do you know anything about that?"

"There was an incident between Stewart and my wife. She was uncomfortable with his invitation to dinner and spoke to Bill Stanton about it. From what she told me, Bill had a talk with Stewart and everything was now fine. That's all I know."

I looked at Riley and added, "Sgt. Riley, did you see the size of Stewart? He's got to be 6'3 or 4. Do you really think a guy my size could beat on him?" I smiled as if I thought the idea was funny. "What time did this shooting and beating take place?"

Riley checked a small notebook. "Mr. Stewart said you came to his place at 9:00. He was sure of the time because he'd just reset his kitchen clock. Would you tell us where you've been this morning?"

The Sgt. was smooth. A lot of people got themselves in trouble by talking too much. Me, I had it covered.

"My wife and my mother took our kids to a school carnival. They left about 8 and I was got here about 8:15 I guess. We can check the time card on for the exact time I started shooting. I talked to the scheduler for a few minutes but it was about 8:30 when I started."

I called out to Jerry the scheduler, "Hey Jerry, bring my card over here will you please? He brought me the card and I handed it to Sgt. Riley after glancing at it. "I was wrong; I started shooting at 8:25."

Riley looked at the time stamp and made a notation in his book. "How long have you been a member of the gun club Mr. Jackson?"

"Ever since it opened I guess you could say. I helped John build the shooting bays when he bought the building and started the business."

"So you and Mr. Wilkins have been friends for a couple of years?" Riley asked.

"No, we've been friends since the second grade," I answered.

John came out of his office and joined us. "I'm John Wilkins. I own the place. Is there a problem about the club Officer?"

"No Mr. Wilkins," Riley answered. "We were just asking Mr. Jackson a few questions."

"I told you you'd get in trouble if you didn't pay those parking tickets J W," John teased. The younger officer sort of perked up and John added, "Just kidding son, just kidding." Turning back to Riley he said, "If you need me I'll be in my office Sgt."

Riley watched John walk away. He looked back and forth between John and me. Shaking his head he put his notebook away. "You know, I had something like what happened with your wife happen to me early in my marriage."

I wondered where he was going but didn't ask.

"You work a crazy schedule when you're a patrolman and I was away from home at weird times. My wife became friends with a guy she worked with and he stepped over the line. I had a talk with him and solved the problem." Riley smiled. "I guess between the badge, the gun, and the uniform he got the message. He never bothered my wife again."

Damn, Riley knows exactly what happened, I thought.

"Mr. Jackson, if you have a problem with Mr. Stewart, I suggest you contact the police or an attorney," he told me. "Don't take matters into your own hands again." He held up his hand when I started to object. "I'm pretty sure what happened this morning but I can't prove it and I'm pretty sure if we test fired your .45 it wouldn't match the slugs we pulled out of the wall behind Mr. Stewart's chair. To be honest I don't know if I want to prove it. So take this as a warning. Okay?"

"Thanks Sgt. Riley," I replied. If I have any problems with Stewart I'll contact an attorney."

As they walked away I heard Sgt. Riley say to the young patrol office, "No it wouldn't do any good to test him for gunshot residue Stone. We saw him shooting his pistol when we came in so of course he'd test positive for residue. You've got to use some common sense to go along with what you learned in the Academy son."

Of course John had timed stamped a card for me. I know it was John because I've never used a time card. I shoot for free. It's good to have a friend who also shoots a Colt 1911and let me borrow it for a morning. I'll clean it before I return it to him. It's the least I can do.

**********

Monday evening Cheryl said, "Gary has stopped coming by my desk. He seems to be avoiding me. But every time we meet in the hall or the elevator he gives me a look that could kill." She looked thoughtfully at me. "Did you say something to Gary?"

"Not me. You asked me to stay out of it so that's what I did."

I guess Bill's talk with him had some effect after all."

"Yeah, it sure does," I replied chuckling to myself. She asked if I thought she should go to the bar with her friends as usual. I told her to go and enjoy herself.

On Wednesday, I was almost home and thinking about where I would stop for dinner. Cheryl would be late that evening because she was stopping at The Office. Why not meet her, the kids are with my folks, I thought. They serve a great cheeseburger. Besides I never needed an excuse to spend time with my wife.

Turning my truck around I headed back downtown. As I walked into The Office I looked for Cheryl and her friends. They weren't there yet so I went to the bar and got a beer. Gary Stewart was sitting at the other end of the bar nursing a drink. When he saw me he got nervous. I smiled and gave him a little wave.

"Hi Honey," Cheryl called as she and her friends entered. Her friends went on to get a table while Cheryl walked over to me and gave me a kiss and a hug. "This is a nice surprise. C'mon I want to show you off to my friends."

As I turned I saw Gary leave by the back door in a hurry.

I was a happy man that evening. My wife was sitting next to me; I had a huge cheeseburger, and a cold beer to drink. As I said I was a happy man.

The next day Cheryl came home as happy as I've seen her in a while. "Strangest thing happened today at work," she said after she kissed me hello.

"What? Did Bill decide that you deserve a 100 percent raise?"

"No silly." She was still smiling and said, "Gary Stewart quit today. He just walked into Bill's office and quit. He didn't give a notice or anything. Just said that he was leaving for personal reasons."

"Maybe he decided that another city would be healthier for him," I offered.

I couldn't hide the evil little grin.