Broken Pt. 06

"You okay, sir?" I asked, helping him back to firmer ground when my instincts just took over when I saw his right side drop. Hearing the plant manager on his radio calling for the safety crews to seal off the corridor we were in, and to also block the other two corridors since they were going to replace all three lines to be on the safe side.

"Yes, thank you, young man."

Returning the nod the man gave me when I pulled my hands away. Noticing the sickened look on his face when he knew, given the depth that turned out to be five feet, he would have broken a leg or two.

"You know, boss," I leaned into Angie as we watched the safety crew cordon off the sink hole and the entrance ways through the corridor. "If they cut corners here, I wonder what else they did." I noted how the big heads were staring at me when I said that. Then saw how they huddled together. Seeing the smirk my boss shot me, then the look that told me she was so going to fuck the shit out of me once we left the plant. Something I'll admit I was really looking forward to. I mean, what guy hasn't thought about fucking his hot female boss before?

"Mrs. Bell will you and your associate join us in the main building, so we can get out of these good people's way?" the owner asked, turning around to face us, watching how he buttoned the top button of his jacket. "In light of what just happened here, we would be foolish to not address this issue immediately."

"Of course, sir, we'd be happy to join you," Angie said; I noted the pleased smile on my boss' face when she said that. Not that I could blame her; after all, this was the big boss; who doesn't like impressing the big boss? I carefully appeared not to be listening as my boss was talking to the other higher-ups as we headed back to the main building, where most of the plant personnel could be found on any given day. I was surprised that Angie and the other big wigs wanted my input given I'm just a junior engineer. Given that it was the old steam lines that were causing the problem or problems in the future. I had asked if the old layout of the lines could be transferred to a clear sheet of plastic so we could overlay it over the current ones we were using to see which pipes would need to be replaced. It took a bit, but we were able to suss out ten different junctions that the contractor that was used had cut corners to save money; I had a suspicion the man in charge of the construction pocketed that money, but that's neither here nor there given the man was likely dead by now.

"This is troubling to hear and see. When I took over for my father, I thought this place was state-of-the-art when he had the reactor installed. Not too badmouth my father; it seems he was a tad too trusting of the people in charge of the construction. First and foremost, Michael, I want those lines changed out if they are where they say they are. I don't doubt you, young man," I nodded my understanding when he looked at me, "then I want a thorough inspection of all systems, no matter how small it is or how expensive it will be, and I can guess it will be expensive. But I want this plant up to code," the man said, stabbing his finger into the table's surface. "I don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night saying we have a disaster here when it could be avoided. We don't need another Three-mile island or Chernobyl on our hands. If you have to take the reactors offline, you inform us so our customers aren't affected by power outages. If we have too, we'll bring in the energy we need until we can get this plant squared away. Mrs. Bell, I would like you and your associate... forgive my rudeness; what was your name again?"

"Jacob Hollister, Mr. Dolittle," I supplied.

"That you and Mr. Hollister here over see the planning and construction."

"Sir, I'm sure some of our more senior engineers would be a better fit for this task than Mr. Hollister," said one of the big heads. Not that I minded, really, I knew if I worked on the project, it would just put me under their gaze far too often. I tended to like being in the background. You get to do so many things when everyone is ignoring you.

"And was it one of these senior engineers that caught this problem?" Mr. Dolittle asked with this rather pointed look. "If they were as good as they claim they are at having said title, then why wasn't this problem addressed years ago? No, either they didn't think about it, which this JUNIOR engineer did, or they are very bad at their jobs. I'm inclined to lean towards the first one. In any case, this young man might have saved us millions, if not billions, of dollars by catching this error now instead of when something major happened, and the devastation could have been a lot worse than a simple sink hole. What say you, Mr. Hollister?"

"I will do my best, sir," I nodded, feeling rather small at that moment with all their eyes on me.

"Good," Mr. Dolittle said in a firm tone. "Mrs. Bell, you and Mr. Hollister here will work with Michael. Let's focus on the major issues first, things that would endanger the plant, then we'll fix these minor things these fools back in the fifties thought to leave behind."

******

I kept my amusement hidden when we returned to the office, just a few minutes before lunch, as I watched Angie try to hide her staggered gait from all our coworkers. I did, after all, ring her bell a few times. With the amount of moaning and screaming she was doing in the back of her car since she couldn't wait any longer to get the dick she wanted. She had taken me to this rather private spot in the natural reserve a few miles from the plant. Couldn't believe how tight that woman was; then again, if her husband hadn't been fucking her, I could see why she was. Although, I knew I was going to enjoy my future lunch hours given how that would be when she fulfills her needs.

I'll admit the lunch Pauline had made for me was very good. Not that I would ever tell her that, but it was damn good. I know the smell of it caught quite a few gazes once it came hot out of the microwave. While I wasn't a fan of the choice of disposable silverware, given how easy they tended to break, yet seeing how I forgot to bring any with me this morning, I made do. I was surprised to find out the patties weren't like the kind you normally find in TV dinners, nor did they have any semblance of hamburger meat. No. What I was tasting at that moment was freshly grounded steak turned into hamburger patties for the meal, given the size of the main portion of the Tupperware container. I did feel kind of like king of the table at that moment when I took note of my co-workers' meals they had brought to work that day. After I had speared every bean and plucked every niblet, you don't eat the fatback; it was just there for flavoring. Ensured that I ate every bit of that steak; like I was going to pass up my own steak? Drained the last of my soda I had bought from the vending machine, tossing it away before I washed out the container and stored it on my desk out of the way once I had returned to it. The rest of the day was spent walking between my desk and Angie's office as we started laying out the work that needed to be done immediately and plans for the future.

When three o'clock hit and the second shift started to roll in, I gathered my things. Made sure my desk, which I share with two other guys, was completely clear. I don't do things on it when I know they both snoop through it on their shifts. Smiling at one of my co-workers when he joked about making extra for him for tomorrow's lunch as I was heading for the exit. When I left my office building, I was not expecting to see Pauline leaning against the side of my car, nor was I expecting to see Emily just resting her chin on her forearms as she rested on the door while a happy smile on her face. That wasn't something unusual; no, it was the fact that Pauline was wearing what I can only equate to a woman from the fifties would wear; it kind of gave me that creepy 'Stepford Wife' feel, especially with how her hands were folded out before her, and the way she was looking at me.

"Hello, Jacob; I hope your day was good," Pauline said in this sweet tone of voice. I had no idea why it appeared she prettied herself up just to bring my car to me for my ride home. Then I noted how her eyes dropped to the Tupperware dish in my left hand. "Did you enjoy your lunch?" I heard the hope in her voice. I pondered on what I should say to that and how she would take it when I did.

"Here, let me take those from you," Emily said, holding out her hands to me. Reluctantly handing the container and my briefcase to her seeing how I noticed how I was getting looks from my co-workers.

"Yeah," I answered, handing my stuff to Emily.

"Good, I'm glad," Pauline muttered, flashing me this smile I hadn't seen since I was six. "Here, I know how you want to drive home," she said, holding my keys out to me. My attention dropped to my hands when the way Emily touched the back of my hands; it didn't feel like something a sister should do, or I could totally be reading too much into it, given the weirdness about it.

"Jacob?" Pauline's voice filled the cab of my Impala as I slid into the driver's seat.

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind if we go to Kent's Diner for supper?" Pauline asked. I found the touch on my thigh a little bit odd; if you're thinking, why didn't I remove it then? I did; she just moved it back?! "I think it will be good for us to have family dinners together, at least until Emily goes in for her treatment. Plus, the best way for the two of you to grow closer as brother and sister is over food." I arched an eyebrow at her stern nod.

"Can we, Jacob?" Emily's pleading tone caused me to turn in my seat. "I really liked that milkshake; maybe we can see the horses after."

"Alright," I replied in a deadpan voice. Knowing this would give me plenty of time to get ready to head to Delph's place. I wasn't planning on missing out on that. Feeling at ease at the purr of that V8 when it turned over.

"Buckle up, honey," Pauline said n this motherly voice when I shifted into gear and slowly pulled away from the curb. Pointing my car towards my hometown, sinking into the seat as I cruised down the road towards the interstate.

******

After the meal at Kent's, I stopped at the gas station to fill up my car due to the constant driving my car has seen ever since they had shown themselves at my place. I was leaning against the side of my car as I was fueling up, watching the price going up and up, knowing it took a lot to get that 502 engine moving. Plus, I didn't want to run out of gas when I went over to Delph's in the next two hours. Turning my head as Emily stuck her head out the open rear driver-side window, resting her forearms along the top of the door as she did.

"Jacob?" Emily's soft voice filled the air as she stuck her head out the window.

"Hmm?" I hummed, noting how the price was now over forty dollars, and still, it hadn't stopped.

"Would you allow me to get my own cell phone so I can call and text you when I'm in the hospital?" Emily asked in this submissive tone that rightly unnerved me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against those that are into that kind of lifestyle, yet that just wasn't me.

"And why do you need your own phone?" I asked, looking down at her. Her brown hair dangled down the right side of her face, something she had inherited from our mother while I took after my father. Something I'm proud of, even if my father took his own life when I was extremely young. I have no idea why those brown eyes, something else she got from our mother as hard as that was to believe, had a pouty look in them when I asked that question.

"So I can talk to you," Emily said in this rather small, cute voice. Don't tell anyone I said that; otherwise, I would never hear the end of it. "I've never been away from Mom for a day, much less alone a whole month. I'm a little scared to stay isolated for that long," she spoke in a weak voice.

"Ah, I'll see what I can do," I muttered, a little unnerved by the smile Emily flashed me when I said that. I still couldn't figure out why my body was so on edge around them. I mean, I wasn't before; sure, I was a little bit annoyed with them being in my house but never on edge. The hours I was at work kind of put it out of my mind until then. I didn't even really have to buy a new phone since I still had my grandmother's iPhone. I had deactivated it after her funeral, and it wouldn't take much to have it reactivated.

"Thank you, brother," Emily said in this happy, chipper tone. I could see the delight in her eyes when she said that word. Well, I wouldn't want to be Roy's kid either, after what I heard about the man.

I scowled when the final price for filling up my car was sixty dollars. Not a price I want to constantly be paying. But I can't do anything about that. So, like everyone else, I just have to suck it up and hope the prices drop soon. Otherwise, my outings will be few and far between. Have I said how I love the rumble of the engine? Well, I do! Who doesn't like the feel of a big block V8 just tickling your spine? Anywho, as I was sitting at the exit to turn on the road that led to my house, which was a little over ten miles away from the gas station we were at. I turned my head when Pauline asked me a really stupid question.

"What?" I asked, sure that I had heard her wrong.

"I asked: will you be joining us for church tomorrow?" Pauline repeated as she gazed at me.

"No, I have to work; even if I didn't, I wouldn't be joining you anyway," I stated as I pulled out onto the road. Kansas' 'Dust in the wind' played over the radio as we cruised for home.

"I don't like you working on the sabbath," Pauline huffed, crossing her arms.

"Tough," I replied.

"The man of the house should be seen with us at church," Pauline said in a tone that took me aback for a minute as we sat at a red light.

"You'll be moving out when she's better, so I don't see why you need the man of the house with you," I stated, trying to throw her off her game or whatever was going through her mind at that moment. I was not expecting to see the shocked look in Pauline's eyes when I said that.

"Jacob, I know we have a lot to work out, but we are not moving out," Pauline said; I arched an eyebrow at that. I was going to say something to it until the car behind me honked its horn when the light turned green. "You need a woman in your life, and who better to be that than your family," she spoke in this tone that had me clearly weirded out. "After all, as the good book states, the mother shall kneel before the man, giving her body to open her son's eyes to the light of God. It's okay that you can't understand that right now, but soon you will," she spoke in this tone that said it would come true.

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen," I muttered to myself. I didn't want to get into a fight, not when I was about to leave in a few hours to make Delph moan to the heavens like she did the first time I was there. I was thankful that Pauline didn't bring up that weird cult shit, at least it sounded like some weird cult shit to me, for the rest of the ride to my house. Upon arriving home, after parking in my normal spot, grabbing my briefcase and the Tupperware container from the back, where they rested on the floor board behind my seat. I found it odd that they hadn't moved from their spots by my car. Which I have to say was bloody odd if you ask me. I was a little unnerved when Pauline took the container from me; it wasn't the act itself that unnerved me; it was the look she gave me before she entered the kitchen. Shaking it off, I had more important things to focus on at the moment than Pauline's odd behavior.

******

~~~Emily~~~

"Mom?" I spoke softly as I entered my brother's kitchen, hoping that soon this would come to feel like a home for all of us. I knew Jacob already saw it as his home, yet I've never had my own bed, my own room, my own things that I didn't have to hide because who I thought was my father was very, very controlling.

"What is it, honey?" I watched as my mother washed out the container that held Jacob's lunch that I had helped to make for him.

"I don't think he remembers what happened last night," I said, hearing the shower going upstairs. While the house was old and creaked like crazy, but for the first time, I didn't have to fear the man I thought was my father molesting me in my sleep.

"I know; it does seem like he doesn't." I watched how she nodded in agreement.

"What are we going to do?" I asked; I was really worried about my brother... how that word just brought so much happiness to me now that I really knew the truth. Jacob wasn't my half-brother or my nephew but my actual full-blood brother. How I wished I could have known my father and not the man that claimed that title.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll speak with the head priest tomorrow when we go for services after I take your brother to work in the morning," my mother said with a warm smile on her lips as she peered at me. I knew ever since we got the news yesterday about the DNA results for the transplant that my mother has been so elated to know that Billy, my dad, had given her one last gift. I did feel for Jacob. I didn't want Billy to die, but I couldn't change what had already happened before I was even born. I just hope that now that we all knew the truth and that we were all related that Jacob would come to see me as his sister and not as an interloper in his home. Something I completely understood after being alone with only our grandmother for the past eighteen years.

"Do you think we gave him too much last night?" I asked; while I didn't like the idea of using it on Jacob, I could see my mother's point that without it Jacob wouldn't have done what we needed him to last night.

"I think so." I saw my mother nod as she got out a pan to start making Jacob's lunch for tomorrow. "Want to help, sweetie?" Did my mother really have to ask? Of course, I did. It was my place and my mother's to ensure that Jacob, who was the breadwinner, had a healthy, nutritious meal. We just didn't make a meal just for him; we made enough for lunch for ourselves as well. Not that I minded, I haven't eaten so well in my life since coming here. There we were, laughing and joking around as my mother made Jacob's lunch for tomorrow, which turned out to be a pork roast. Which I had never really had before, and I was really eager to try it. Roy, I wasn't going to ever call him dad again; he had a stranglehold on what we could eat. Some days I thought we were going to starve, given how hungry I was a few times in my youth. Now, I don't ever have to worry about that anymore. Not with Jacob, a man I really wanted to have christen my altar in his seed of life, as the good book states. Then I heard the shower stop, wondering if Jacob was going to come down and spend time with us. I hoped. However, when I heard shoes on the stairs, something I thought and knew he wouldn't wear if he was staying in, my mood soured knowing he was going out. I followed after my mother as she neared the doorway closest to the stairs. "Jacob, where are you going? It's getting late, and you have to work in the morning." I heard my mother say as I stood behind her.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my jealousy rose when I caught the scent of the cologne he had worn a few weeks ago when I knew he had fornicated with another woman. Why did my brother have to seek out other women when all he had to do was ask us to take care of his needs? I would gladly take his rod of man into my mouth any time he wanted it sucked. No questions asked. It was what the good book stated that the women of the family should do to ease the stress that the man of the house was under.