AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good timing, chocolate’s done.” Pete picked up two mugs, setting one down in front of her, then he sat down on the opposite side of the table. Tom got his and sat next to his dad. They were both careful to leave her a clear path to the door, so she sat and sipped her cocoa.
Pete put his cup down. “I know it’s cold and snowy, but I’m planning for the summer. Wiz, every year, we take a least one trip into the backcountry. And it’s been a couple of years, but we used to go out during hunting season too. You’re more than welcome to join us, if you can take a week off.” Pete raised his cup to her, then took a sip.
“Really? You think I’ll be good enough?”
Pete and Tom both laughed, glancing at each other. Pete waved his hand over the table. “We take newbies out, like the grandkids. You’ll be more than good enough. You’ll be helpful.”
“There will be other people too?” She’d have to know who they were and check them all.
Pete shrugged. “Maybe. It depends on everybody’s schedule. Last year, Marie and her family didn’t make it out here at all, and Alex and his family couldn’t come for a whole trip. Alex’s kids are a little young for a big trip anyway. They’re all pretty busy with their own lives.”
Tom put his cup down. “Marie and her husband live in Seattle. They’ve got two teenagers, and Alex and his family are in LA. They’d love to come out here more, but it’s hard when you’ve got a family and two careers to manage.”
She’d so often wondered what it would be like to have family, people who truly loved her.
Pete must have read her mind because he asked, “Do you have brothers or sisters, Wiz?”
“Not that I know of. I was raised by my grandma until she passed away when I was five, then I was in the foster system. My mother is in prison for selling drugs. I don’t have anything to do with her. I have no idea who my father is. I went in the Air Force as soon as I could to get out of the system.” So many families she’d lived with who only saw dollar signs. At least she hadn’t been abused, only emotionally neglected. Which was why she’d married her ex.
“I’m sorry. That sucks.” Tom’s eyes looked a little bright, and he swallowed hard.
“Well, you’ve got us. You’re a part of our family.” Pete jabbed a finger at her. Tom nodded, with a smile. Pete gave her a sly grin. She’d learned that smile meant he was up to something; usually something that he thought would be good for her. “Since you’re family, why don’t you join us for dinner? It’s in the crockpot there, and there’s plenty.”
Wiz chuckled. “You really are a tricky one. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been talking to my therapist.”
Tom’s brows rose. “You have one?”
She’d be insulted by his surprise, but she knew how weird she was. “Yeah. We talk online at least once a week.”
“Good. Too many people don’t.”
“I have no intention of becoming a statistic.” She’d been too intent on revenge and anger to give into depression early on, and by time she had started feeling depressed, she’d already started therapy. She’d been fortunate to find a great team of therapists, too.
“Living well is the best revenge.” Pete raised his cup to her.
“Oh, other types of revenge are pretty good.” She clenched her cup, the anger that was never far away raging through her.
“Tom, why don’t you heat some rolls? They’re in the freezer.” Pete tilted his head toward the door. Tom nodded, stood, and rooted in the bottom of the ancient refrigerator/freezer, the rustle of frozen plastic loud. “Be careful with the revenge. All too often, the anger hurts you worse than the other guy.” Pete spoke softly.
She leaned forward to hear him, but the words fanned the fire of her anger. “That’s easy to say but hard to live. I know who at least some of the bad guys are, and I’m not their only victim. And I’m not the only one who got ignored by their chain of command. If I hadn’t acted, or my friends hadn’t, nothing would have happened. There would have been nothing, absolutely nothing, keeping it from happening again and again.” Her hands ached around her mug, longing to form around a rifle. They deserved to die, not the petty revenge she’d enacted.
“But they’ve gotten their comeuppance, right? And the system has changed?”
“Some. Not anywhere close to what they deserved. And the system has changed, but not nearly enough. So-called leaders in the military continue to ignore the issue.” She sneered. “They think it only happens to women and the weak, so they don’t care.”
“They’re wrong. You know that. And some of them do care. I heard that the number of people reporting sexual assault has risen from one in ten to one in four. That’s good progress.”
“It should be one to one. And it shouldn’t happen at all!”
Pete held up his hand. “No, you’re right, it shouldn’t happen at all, and if it does, the system ought to punish the criminals immediately and harshly. But it is changing, and it’s changing for the better. Just like racial integration during my time, it will happen, if slower than we want, and there will be issues and problems because people are humans. And there’s always some who feel they’re entitled to more. It’s not good, but it’s true.”
“Yes. It’s true. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay.”
Pete shook his head. “Didn’t say it was. We have to keep pushing.” He gave her a warning look. “But inside the system, not as some sort of vigilante justice. That kind of thing will hurt you worse because, in the end, it makes you just as bad as the bad guy. And it makes you feel worse than that guy ever will. You can’t change him.”
“Maybe. I felt pretty good about a lot of things I did.” Wiz read her emotions, like the therapists taught. “Matter of fact, I don’t regret any of it. But... I'm not going to continue to go after them. That’s one of the reasons I moved. I had to get away from the military and the constant barrage of bad news.” She put her cup down with a thump. “But if any of them come after me, they’re going to end up dead. And I won’t lose a minute of sleep over it.”
Pete’s lips clamped for a moment. “You may think that, but killing someone...that’s forever. Even in self-defense, it’s not something you can do without consequences. I still have nightmares.” He looked away.
