Silent Keys: Chapter Five and Six

Don Wilkins was the kind of man who needed to control everything, even the death of his wife, Livi. It didn't quite work out the way he had so carefully planned.

Chapter Five

As he watched for any sign of life in Livi's face, he swallowed his second cup of tea. It had a rank and rancid taste after steeping for so long and went down hard. He was a die-hard coffee drinker. Tea just didn't make his day in the same way coffee did. Why he hadn't thought of throwing his dose of pills into a cup of rich brew was moot at this point. But had he been more coherent, at least he could've enjoyed his death drink rather than add it to his suffering.

If anything, the damned tea was making his brain a fuzzy mess of disjointed thoughts. All these memories bombarding him brought up that old saying, watching your life pass before your eyes. Indeed, that must be what's happening to him. It was getting more difficult to stay in the present and finish the job.

What was he supposed to do next? Where was his list? He had even lost track of a little scrap of paper with some very important information. Using his fingers, he ticked off the things he had already done. Then he remembered their housekeeper, Rosaria, was coming in a few hours. She would be the one to find them. Of course, he couldn't tell her their plan, but the surprise, the horror of discovering their bodies was more than any human being should experience. It just wasn't right to subject the woman to such a shock. Not after all she had done for them.

When he called her a day ago, he had told her they were going to Idaho and not to come until he called again. She reminded him that he owed her money for the last month.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, Livi usually reminds me of these things, but this month … well, she hasn't been my secretary for a long time." He tried to be light-hearted about Livi's worsening dementia, but Rosaria knew more than he did how Livi was failing. She was the one who spent the most time with Livi, helping her bathe and dress, giving him a little respite from the daily care. He wanted to hire her on a full-time basis, even offered more money for the job.

Unfortunately, Rosaria had other clients that she didn't want to lose. Also, she didn't want to expand her workload to include personal care. It had been okay for the past month, but Don could see that their sudden dive into this medical abyss affected Rosaria's desire to work for them any more.

He could see the growing trepidation in her eyes every time she came in the door.  She'd look around as if scoping out the latest crisis, then she would beat it straight for the kitchen to busy herself with the easy tasks. Only when he called her would she rescue him from whatever problem he was having getting Livi ready to face the day. And each day was getting more complicated.

Livi had loved having Rosaria around all these years, but Don was independent and didn't like other people in his house, invading his privacy, doing work that he should've been able to do. With his heart condition, though, and Livi's forgetfulness increasing as well as her osteoporosis contorting her body, it was good to have Rosaria around every day.

It dawned on him just then that Livi enjoyed Rosaria's company far more than his. They used to gossip and laugh about their family lives. The two women were even teaching each other their languages. Rosaria's English improved considerably under Livi's tutoring. No surprise there. Livi, however, was also acquiring a usable vocabulary of Spanish. Then she hit a mental wall and the Spanish as well as most of her English dribbled away. The past week, she couldn't speak at all. That was his cue that the time had come to implement their pact.

If she hadn't been developing Alzheimer's, she and Don could travel to Mexico with no trouble at all; that is, if Don ever got the bug to go to Mexico. He couldn't understand the need to travel physically to some place when he could just pick up his microphone and talk to someone there in person. That mic was his passport to the world. And cheaper too despite the huge cost of radio equipment.

Things had changed so rapidly during the last month or two. The thought of Rosaria quitting or not wanting to help with Livi's care was yet another piece of this puzzle. Without Rosaria, their situation would be impossible.

In the kitchen drawer, he shook the dozen or so pens until he found one that still had ink in it. Shuffling back to his office, he pulled the checkbook out and wrote one last entry, carefully forming each letter and number with his shaky hand.

Holding the check at arm's length, he shook his head. My god, you're an old man. Just look at those squiggles. The pen barely pressed to the paper hard enough to mark it. The jagged handwriting wandered across the check, defying lines and spaces in a way that frustrated Don's need for perfection. Some figures appeared unintelligible because of his inability to hold the pen. His hand was getting weaker with each character on the paper.

It was all he could do. It wouldn't do to write another check that would be even more unreadable. He drew an envelope out of the box on the desk and struggled to slip the check into it. He pounded the desktop. Damn! Can't you even do this? Get the damned thing in there!

His hands trembled violently despite his efforts to calm them. They were out of his control. Everything was getting out of his control.

~~~~~

Usually when he woke up, he had to reassess the reality around him: a ward lined with beds, all containing soldiers in various states of convalescence. Each morning, he took inventory of his limbs, eyes, head, trying to remember which part of him held the remains of that shell casing. Scenes from the M.A.S.H. unit flickered in his brain. He knew he was out of that hellhole with its chaotic bustle and stench of blood and feces, but he couldn't separate that scene from the battlefield where he was hit.

All he could remember was the burst of a mortar shell next to Lieutenant Dante. When Don came to, Dante was gone and he was soaked with blood. The battle still raged around him, but he was alone, the shattered bits of the shell sticking out of his leg. It was then he realized Dante had been vaporized by the shell. All that was left of Lieutenant Dante was the blood soaking his uniform. The horror of that rushed over him and he lost consciousness.

After a period of time whose length he couldn't fathom, they loaded him onto a truck that jostled over a pot-holed road. Bombs punctuated the ride as the truck swerved or lurched to a painful stop to avoid being hit. At last, when the truck arrived at its destination, that's where memory blurred. Somehow, he ended up in this hospital. Was he in Japan or Stateside? Details escaped him, and it infuriated him. The only sure reality was his bed and the sheets he twisted in his fingers.

Then one morning, his bleary eyes opened upon a beautiful young woman. Not one of the nurses, who seemed to age within a week or two, this one was fresh, stunning with her rosy cheeks and livid blue eyes. Her ruby-glazed lips parted in the sweetest smile he'd seen since he kissed Livi good-bye.

Livi. It was Livi! How the hell did she get here?

Taking his hand, she bent over him and kissed him lightly on the lips. He couldn't quite believe it was real. He felt her lips upon his as surely as he felt the cotton fabric bunched in his hands, but it was all a dream. It had to be.

Suddenly, tears flooded his eyes. His sobs jerked him so violently, pain seared through his body. He couldn't move nor speak. All he seemed able to do at the moment was cry. With the humiliation of it, he screamed out, telling her to go away. Leave him alone. He couldn't stand the sight of her.

He watched her flee from the ward. The curtain flapped like a crazed scarecrow as she passed through it and disappeared. One of the nurses stood, as if in shock, as the scene played out, then followed Livi's retreat, leaving him coughing and whimpering, unable to stop his trembling.

What had he done? Why did he do that to her? She was his angel, his savior coming to heal his wounds, his soul. Why was the touch of her lips upon his so repellent? And how was he ever going to see her again to make amends?

Days passed. His mind blanked out on the routine activity of this place. Soldiers came and went, either in a wheelchair or limping with the use of canes or crutches. Gradually, Don sat up more in his bed, watching the pageant of despair as the men around him learned how to live with their broken bodies. His still ached, but each day, the paralysis that had slammed him on this lumpy mattress waned a bit more. Today, the nurse even warned him to prepare for a walk. It was time to rejoin life among the living.

After lunch, the nurse helped him stand beside his bed. Pins and needles shot through his legs. Though he managed to squelch a verbal outburst, his grimace alerted the nurse to his pain.

"Good. The circulation is coming back. You've been in that bed far too long, soldier. We should've gotten you out of there a long time ago."

He grumbled at her as she pulled him forward to his first step. Had he been there a week, a month? He couldn't remember. One day melted into the next, except for that disastrous day when Livi came to call.

They shuffled along, out of the ward and into the long hallway that led toward a brilliant sunlit room at the end. Don suddenly wondered if he had actually died and this Angel of Death was escorting him to Heaven.

As they got closer, though, the crackle of a radio transceiver sparked his attention. He veered toward the sound, taking the nurse off her prescribed course and into a darker room where a man sat at a radio station. It wasn't very big, just a transceiver and a wire hanger antenna attached to one of those IV towers. A ball of aluminum foil capped the top of the antenna. The whole setup was a kludge job. No wonder it crackled and buzzed. Don would be surprised if the operator could get out of this building at all.

"Hey Don. 'Bout time you got here. Thanks, nurse, for rousting this lazy s.o.b. outta bed."

As Don's eyes adjusted to the dim light from the glare in the hallway, he had the vague and uncomfortable feeling that he should know this guy. He looked familiar, but he couldn't place him.

"Any time!" the nurse chimed in. "He's been here long enough. I'm getting tired of him. And we need the bed. There are soldiers waiting who are far sicker than this guy." As if passing a baton, she handed him off to this arrogant stranger then disappeared around the corner.

"What's the matter, Don, don't you recognize your old school buddy?" The man waved his hand in front of Don's staring eyes. "Rick? C'mon Don. Take a wild stab at it."

Suddenly, the face focused in Don's memory. "Rick! Damn, you been stateside while all us MEN fought for your freedom?"

"Don't give me that bull, Don. You're not the only one fighting the Commies. I've been up to all kinds of mischief while you've been shooting your popgun at sniper's."

Don glared at Rick. "How did you know about that?"

"Some day I'll tell you when the file is declassified."

Rick guided Don into the chair in front of the station and placed the mic in his shaking hand. "Now don't drop it, big guy. You can still hang on to a mic, can't you?"

Don pressed the button and the radio squawked a scratchy blast of static that made his heart swell with joy. "Oh sweet Jesus. There's the sound that is my life." He brought the mic to his lips and said, "CQ CQ CQ, this is AB6D calling any station."

Rick threw his hands up in the air as if praising God. "Whoa! The man can't remember his best friend, but he still remembers his call sign. He's on the mend for sure."

The radio hissed with a signal that rose and fell like waves on the sea. A faint voice whispered through the noise. "AB6D, this is KA6CWB." The high voice over the airwaves confused him for a moment. Was it some kid in grade school calling him?

"KA6 … hey could you repeat your call sign? I can barely hear you through all this racket." His heart beat against his chest, nearly choking the words in his throat.

"KA6CWB," a voice came through louder. "Kilo alpha six charlie whiskey bravo."

That's a girl. What's a girl doing on the radio? Hey, that's a nice change.

"Alpha bravo 6 delta, this is kilo alpha 6 charlie whiskey bravo. Do you copy?"

"Wow! You sound great to these ears. Why's a nice girl like you talking to a broken down soldier like me?"

"Ah, you're not so broken down, not from what I saw the other day."

There was a long pause. Her response completely confounded him.

"The nurse told me you were just having a bad day."

Another pause. The girl sounded so familiar, but he couldn't place her. What was she talking about anyway?

"The nurse said you were just shocked to see me there."

Holy cow! "Livi? Is that you, Livi?"

"That's me. KA6CWB."

Don swiveled around and glared at Rick. "What the hell's going on here? When did she get her ticket?"

"While you were wandering aimlessly through the Korean countryside, you jackass. What do you think she'd be doing while waiting for you to get your worthless butt back home?"

"But who …. Hey, you been dating my girl?"

"Simmer down, lover boy. She's all yours, though you don't deserve her. I'd sweep her away in a minute if she'd only take notice of me." Rick pointed to the radio. "Talk to the girl. You're being rude. She was almost afraid to call you. And I don't blame her. God, you're a jerk!"

Don quickly turned back to the radio and called out again. "Livi, you still there, Sweetheart?"

The wait for her return was excruciating. "Yes, I'm still here. What's going on there? Where did you go?"

"Sorry, Honey, Rick's here and you being on the radio is a big surprise."

"Well, I hope it's a pleasant surprise. So do you know when you'll be coming home?"

"I … I hope it's soon. We are going to have so much fun with this … now that you've got your license. My God, what a wonderful surprise."

"Well, don't take too long getting yourself back to me. We've got lots of things to catch up on."

He thought of all the glorious possibilities in that one sentence. "We sure do. You've just given me a reason to come home, too." He turned and smacked Rick in the shoulder. "You planned this whole setup, didn't you?"

"Hey, I got your back, just like always, right?"

"Yeah, just like always." The memories of him and Rick wheedling themselves out of dozens of jams in their teenage years flooded back to him. "Yeah, you were always there causing all kinds of hell for me back home. Does my mother allow you back in her house?" He turned back to the radio and pressed the mic's button. "You are the best thing that's happened to me, girl. The very best thing."

"Even better than radio?" He could hear the teasing lilt in her voice.

"Well, maybe…." He paused long enough to make her wonder. "Yes, you are the best thing."

"Better be," she said in a more commanding tone. "I'll be waiting for you…as usual. This is KA6CWB clear!"

Static cancelled any further contact. He sank in the chair, deflated. That sudden dead air after a sign-off always made him feel empty inside. His head dropped to the table and he sobbed from the sheer loneliness as the static played in his mind.

"Hey buddy. She's only just signed off. She didn't die … or worse. You gotta get yourself together and out of here so you can go back to her. You got a whole life waiting for you. And other than shell shock, you don't have a thing wrong with you. So snap out of it and get on with your life."

"God, I can't believe how weepy I am. What's wrong with me?"

"That's the shell shock. That'll be a deeper scar than what's on your leg. But as soon as you get out of here and on with your life, you'll feel better."

"My life. What life. I got nothing to return to … except Livi." That one name pumped him up with hope. Despite all he had lost while in Korea, he still had Livi.

Rick pulled the mic from his fist and helped him rise from the chair. Don swiped his face with his pajama sleeve and straightened his shoulders. Rick braced his elbow while they walked back to his bed. When he got there, though, he didn't climb underneath the covers. Instead, he sat on the edge, looking at his friend and nodding his head.

"Yeah, thanks buddy. You always got my back. I owe you everything."

"You owe me nothing, but you owe that little girl the world. So let's get you dressed and home. Rick grinned and cuffed Don in the shoulder. "I'll go fetch a wheelchair to ferry you to the car." Then with a quick salute, he pivoted on his heel and walked out of the ward, the sound of his footsteps diminishing as he walked down the hall.

Chapter Six

With Rosaria's check taped to the front door, he shuffled into the kitchen. His head spun, forcing him to brace against the counter. Okay, the tea was starting to work but not fast enough. Maybe some more pills. Just swallow all the pills in the house and get it over with.

He grabbed a bottle from the counter where Livi kept their medications. Her little container still held her pills in daily slots. He popped that open and tipped the container against his palm. Some pills found their place in his hand, but most of them scattered across the counter and on to the floor. Jamming the pills in his mouth, he chewed them as he fell to his knees and searched in the darkness for the rest.

Nearly choking on the pills in his mouth, he hoisted himself up, using the edge of the counter, and fumbled with a glass under the tap. As he drank the water, he thought maybe he should call someone. Not the hams. Not the hospital. 911. He needed to call 911. He didn't want Rosaria to discover them. She didn't deserve that.

He didn't really like Rosaria's role in their lives. It was Livi who needed her, though. Rosaria would bring things to order, pick up their clothes, do laundry, do errands for them. Before she left each day, she would leave a tasty meal in the refrigerator for them to nuke later. Don just tried to stay out of her way.

Then he had to remind himself, as he would sit there fuming like a spoiled child, she helped him too. If it weren't for Rosaria, he would have to do all of Livi's chores and errands himself. One day, he tried to do everything and very quickly collapsed from exhaustion. His heart just couldn't handle it anymore. So, he owed Rosaria. He owed her big time, especially because she was never nosy. She always kept her focus on the chore at hand rather than snooping around in drawers and closets, maybe stealing things from them.

She certainly had lots of opportunities as Livi and Don sat, inert, in their loungers. But she never did. Don checked where every little thing was before Rosaria arrived every day and he checked after she left. Nothing was ever out of place.

No, Rosaria was as honest and true as the day was long. She didn't deserve to find their bodies.

Going to the front door, he took the envelope from the clip on the mailbox and walked unsteadily back to the office. In his underwear drawer where he kept things out of Livi's reach and knowledge, he pulled out a wallet filled with cash. Counting out the bills, he found the wallet contained several hundred dollars. This was his emergency fund. Livi would've called it her 'mad money' if she had such a secret stash. But for Don, it was for that time when the country collapsed in financial disarray as predicted, or whatever mayhem would overtake their world.

Today, though, his shaking hand stuffed the money into a larger envelope along with Rosaria's check. It was even harder now that his brain was foggier and his hands were more inept than just a few minutes ago. He didn't bother sealing the envelope, but he scribbled Rosaria on it. He hoped she would be able to read that snake trail script. Since he was going to call 911, he would just leave it on the kitchen counter, maybe anchored under the corner of the microwave where she'd be sure to see it.

That done, he stumbled back to the kitchen where the phone was. Along the way, he had to lean against the wall to keep from falling. The pills burned in his belly, making him nauseous. He hoped he wouldn't throw up while talking to the dispatcher. That wouldn't do at all. He had to do this right.

Bending over the counter for support, he picked up the receiver and dialed the numbers. He didn't even hear it ring on the other end before a woman's voice greeted him with "911 dispatch, please state the nature of your emergency."

He breathed deeply, pausing too long before the woman spoke again.

"Please, state the nature of your emergency so I can help you."

At that, he stammered his message in a robotic voice. "I've taken a bunch of pills. I've killed my wife, and I'm barricaded in my bedroom." He paused again, waiting for some response. "I have a gun," he added for good measure and set the receiver back into the cradle of the phone. That last part will get them here quick.

It was done. They would know the address by their computer system's reverse 911 connection. He would lie on the bed and wait. It was done and he could relax now. He had completed everything he could think of to do. There was nothing more to do but wait and let the pills do their work.

He lay down on their bed, the mattress indented permanently by their bodies, and looked up at the ceiling. Popcorn! Livi hated that popcorn, but to remove it would've been too costly. And he certainly couldn't do the job himself. The full moon cast an eerie glow around the room. Crickets chimed in chorus with cicadas in a deafening racket. Don hated cicadas!

Normally, he would be irritated by the noise, but the pills must've worked on his senses. Like Percodan, he was still conscious, but he was too out of it to care. Instead, he closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears as well.

In no time, visions of the past filtered into his mind. The war. Seeing Livi at the train station. Their wedding. Oh, that wedding! He came really close to losing his two favorite people that day.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where the hell is Rick? He should've been here twenty minutes ago. How can I marry Livi when the best man doesn't show up?

Don paced the hallway. He could hear the organ music start and all the guests filtering in through the chapel doors, the murmurs of their voices revving up his nerves. So far, this wedding was not going well. He wanted everything to go perfectly, like a finely tuned Swiss watch, for Livi. This was a big day for her.

Then he heard Livi's mother mumbling through the door where they were dressing for the ceremony. His hands itched, anticipating the night to come and the fact the he couldn't see her before the ritual that her parents insisted upon. In fact, Livi insisted upon a big wedding. All Don wanted was a trip to Reno, get it done so they could move on and start a family.

Family.

That word pierced his heart as he remembered getting the news while in Korea of the accident. His whole family was wiped out when Dad lost control of the car and it plunged into the canyon. His mother, father, two brothers, and a sister. His beloved sister who was about the only female he could trust … until Livi entered his life.

They were coming back from a vacation in southern California, one that his mother had looked forward to for years. They had worked so hard and so constantly, that neither one of them took a day off. Not even Sundays. Church was big for both of them. While his father fussed with work related odds and ends, Mom would cook a huge dinner. Chicken, dumplings, the whole works. There would always be guests, either relatives or friends, to join them.

One time, his brother even brought home some vagrant he found sleeping on a park bench. Like a lost kitten, for hell sakes! Mom sat the scruffy, smelly man next to Don and let him eat several helpings. The man's body odor was so strong, Don had to excuse himself. As he ducked into his bedroom, he heard his mother say to the man, "Please pardon my son's rudeness. It's a failure in his upbringing, I guess."

The loss of his whole family all in one stroke hit him so hard, he couldn't wait to get home from school, marry Livi, and start a family of his own. That one thing became an obsession. He couldn't bear the thought that he was now all alone in the world.

Now he could hear Livi's mother pleading with her to reconsider going through with this marriage. "He's shell-shocked, Olivia. He will have nightmares and angry outbursts. He may even start beating you. I will not stand for that. Do you understand? He will treat you just like my Aunt Mildred's husband. He came back from Italy so wound up he couldn't even kiss her at their wedding. Can you imagine such a thing? Olivia, I'm warning you."

Livi's response was so quiet, he couldn't copy it, just like a weak signal on the radio. She was going to get cold feet again. He knew this was going to happen. Her mother never did really warm up to him. For some reason, she thought anybody who came back from war was so damaged they would become nothing but bums.

During the year since he returned from Korea, he hadn't snapped at Livi or harmed her in any way. And that little woman of his was a pistol when she got riled. She was no timid wallflower. He couldn't understand what her mother was so worried about. Livi could handle Don's temper just fine.

Still he was afraid she was going to bail on him today. He was hopeful when she got her HAM license. That was a good sign she was interested in sharing her life with him. Very few women got involved in amateur radio. As soon as he got home, though, and started pressing her to get married, she backed away from him. Sometimes, she told him she had other plans for the evening, wanted to hang out with her girlfriends. That really put him in a dither. Wasn't he enough for her? She was the center of his life. He should've been the center of hers if she loved him.

Then there was that day not too long ago when he was really lobbying her to marry him. Her response floored him. "I want to do other things with my life besides be somebody's housekeeper."

"Is that what you think you'll be? We will have a wonderful life together. A nice little house. Lots of kids? You want children, don't you? What could possibly be better than that?"

"I want to sing, Don. That's why I'm going to the Conservatory. I've worked very hard there and I don't want to give that up."

"You want to sing?" He raised his voice so harshly that she backed away from him. He grabbed her shoulders and shook them gently. At least, he remembered it was gentle. Her eyes widened with fear and he dropped his hands to his sides and bowed his head.

"Please, Livi. You know I love you, don't you? And you know why I'm so anxious to build a family. Livi, you're all I have in this world. My whole family disappeared from my life and I couldn't even say goodbye to them. They were buried before I could get home. It didn't even sink in completely until I walked up to the house, knocked on the front door, and some strange woman opened it. My home was gone right along with my family. I had to live in a stupid, old motel until I could get myself together. I got a stupid telegram with a few words. Then nothing else. Not even a letter from Rick telling me what was going on at home."

"Rick didn't know. He was off on his own wartime assignments, Don. And your pastor should've been the one to tell you. He was the one who officiated over everything concerning their funerals and such. Everything. Didn't he write to you? Maybe he didn't know how to reach you. And I was in San Francisco. I never knew what happened until you did."

"That damned preacher … did nothing for me. Not even a prayer on my behalf. Even Dad's business disappeared. His money? I was totally out of the picture."

Livi's eyes softened and her shoulders relaxed. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He could feel his heart thumping against her, each beat growing more urgent.

"Don't you see, Livi. I need you to be in my life."

She nodded. When she finally pulled away, though, she didn't look him in the eye. "Yes, I understand. And I'm so sorry about your family. That's the most horrible thing I've ever heard of. Especially after what happened to you in Korea. Don, I'm so sorry. But I also can't take the place of your whole family. Can't you see that?"

Stunned by her excuses, he stared at the ground, unable say anything for a long time. It was so difficult for him to understand her hesitation. Didn't all girls want to get married? Didn't some girls actually get pregnant just so some poor slob had to marry them? Livi was hitting him with something so unfathomable, it made him feel like a fool. She knew how much he loved her.

"It's a big decision, Don, for me. Don't you want to return to school and get your engineering degree? Wasn't that your dream before you went away? Now you've changed all that and laid out a whole new plan. And there's no room for anything I want in that plan. You're expecting me to scrap my dreams. Dreams that I've wished and worked for my entire life. You have passions for your interests, right? Well, it's the same for me. I want to sing!"

"You don't have to give up anything. You can still sing all you want. There are lots of opportunities around here for you. The Church choir. Our children? You can sing for me all you want. I love hearing you sing."

She chuckled at that in a way that sounded derisive. "Yeah, I can always sing for you." Then she said in a whisper he could barely hear, "The world doesn't need another soprano."

In time, to him almost too much time, she finally agreed and started planning this huge affair. He figured she and her mother used the past six months as a way to stall, to hold him off even longer. Now, as he paced the hall, waiting for Rick to show up, he thought he was going to burst.

"Hey, buddy, sorry I'm late. My car chose this morning to go on the fritz." Rick's long fingers dug into his shoulder. Don wheeled around on him, his fist ready to put a dent in that smug face. Rick's hand quickly grabbed Don's fist midair. "What the hell! Hey, you're not in a bar in Seoul! You having another hallucination?"

Don stomped down the hall then back again, pacing back and forth trying to get his anger under control. This day was going to drive him back to the hospital, another stint on the psych ward. If only he and Livi could get on with it. Away from all these people. Without all this stupid ceremony and feminine foolishness. Be alone and on their own. His hands raked through his carefully pomaded hair.

"Now you got that greasy kid's stuff all over your hands." Rick grabbed his arm and escorted him, MP style, into the men's room at the end of the hall. Pushing him roughly through the doorway, Rick stood close enough to his face that Don instantly calmed down and leaned against the sink.

"You are going to pull yourself together and behave like a gentleman. This is not your big day. It's Livi's. You got that. LIVI'S! You are not going to put yourself before her for a change, do you hear me, private?"

Without looking up, Don nodded like a chastised little boy. Rick always was an overbearing s.o.b. Usually, Don resented it, but could never overcome Rick's authority over him. He had become the brother that Don lost in that accident. Today, though, as he cooled off in that echoing bathroom, he knew Rick was right this time. It was Livi's day. He would give her that much.

"Okay, I'm okay now.  Let's go. Everybody's waiting." He inhaled deeply and stood up straight, adjusting his suit coat and tie.

"Let 'em wait. You gotta promise me you won't screw up this day for her, 'cause if you do, I'll be that guy who'll tell the preacher why you two can't get married. I'll swoop in and save her from whatever slavery she's going to have with you."

Don glared up at Rick, shocked at his remarks. Slavery? What the hell was he talking about? "She's not going to be a slave." Rick cut him off before he could add any more.

"She better not be. And I'll be watching to see you don't mistreat her. She's a beautiful, tender-hearted woman who's waited for you for a long time. She deserves a helluva lot better than someone like you."

Don huffed in Rick's face. "Ha! Like you?" He squared his shoulders to match Rick's manly stance.

"Yeah, like me! Damnit! I even asked her if she'd be willing to marry me, but she refused. Can you imagine that? She's in love with you. Asshole! What is it with women anyway? Ha! Maybe it's pity!" He cuffed Don shoulder, sending him back against the edge of the sink. "Don't mess with her, Don, or I'll still come get her. One hand in the wrong place and you're done. Got it?"

Don shook his head, surprised by all that Rick was telling him. This was one of those moments when he could make the wrong move and lose Rick and Livi all in one throw. He filled his lungs with the stale bathroom air. Without another word, the argument hung between them.

Rick turned away and headed for the door. That was when Don noticed Rick's shiny black cowboy boots poking out from his dress pants. Irritation welled up inside him so fierce, he couldn't hold it in. Rick had a lot of gall accusing him of spoiling the wedding and then he wears cowboy boots. Hayseed sonofabitch!

"What the hell are those? You wore cowboy boots to my wedding? What kind of hick …?"

All Rick did at that point was hold up one finger and point it directly at Don's face. No words, just the gesture. The power behind it was enough to send a powerful message.

Don sighed and slumped against the sink. "I copy."