Page 24 of Jobe

Jobe pulled his pickup truck into the driveway of his parent’s home. Mackenna glanced sharply at him, but his face gave away nothing. By the time he rounded the front of the vehicle and assisted Penny to the ground his mother was already bounding down the porch steps with his father close behind.

Rachel and Penny hugged and greeted each other like long-lost friends while Joseph stood to the side beaming. As Mackenna slid over to the passenger side, Jobe plucked her easily off of the seat and set her down on the ground, letting his hands stay around her waist a moment longer than necessary.

Before she could process what was happening, Rachel bustled over and pulled her into a hug as well.

“Oh, my dear Mackenna. We missed you so much. And when my Jobe called to tell me what happened last night, I was beside myself! We insist that Penny stay with us until your home is safe to go back to.”

Joseph gave her a hug as well, his head nodding in agreement with his wife’s proclamation.

“I…um…I…she has to have…um,” Mackenna blathered, not able to form a coherent sentence.

“My Miriam is a nurse and she can be here in the evenings for whatever Penny needs,” Rachel enthused.

Mackenna looked toward her mother for assistance, but Penny’s face just glowed. “Mom? Um, what do you want to do?”

“I wou love ta stay if tha don mind,” she said.

At that moment, Mackenna realized how much her mom had missed out since the stroke. When they moved to Richmond, her mother lost contact with many of her friends and other than her and the nurses, Penny’s world had shrunk. With tears in her eyes, she hugged her mom, whispering, “I’m sorry mom. You haven’t had many friends lately have you? Of course we can stay.”

“Oh no, bab gir. Only room fa me. Ya stay wi Jobe,” her mother whispered back.

Mackenna pulled back and saw the twinkle in her mother’s eyes. Glancing to the trio standing a few feet away, she saw the same twinkle in Jobe’s parents’ eyes as well.

Softly, her mother spoke wisely, “It is time fa ya to de-ci. Are ya goin ta forgive or not.”

“It’s not that easy, mom,” Mackenna whispered back, noticing the others stepping back to give them some privacy.

“Eva-thin worth havin, is worth fightin fa,” her mother said.

Mackenna took a deep breath and nodded. “We’ll see, mom.”

With a last goodbye, Mackenna turned to get back into the truck. Jobe hugged his parents before handing Penny’s suitcase to his dad. As he moved he saw Mackenna already sitting in the seat, her head down.

The ride to Alvarez Security was quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Jobe glanced nervously to the side, wondering what was going through her head. Finally, when he could not take the silence anymore, he opened his mouth to speak. Before he could get a word out, she began to speak.

“Last night, I was on my computer when I heard the shots go off.”

He continued to drive, waiting to see what she was going to say next.

“I was looking up some things on PTSD.”

His heartbeat increased as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.Here comes the part where she says she can’t handle dealing with a fucked up me.

Mackenna, aware that he was not going to say anything, continued, “I was thinking that maybe we could talk sometime if you still wanted to.”

Jobe let his breath out slowly, trying to control his pounding heart. He had no idea what she meant by that statement, but he was willing to take it as far as she was willing to listen. “I’d like that. Whenever you want,” were the simple words that came out, afraid to say anything more.

She sighed as they drove into the underground garage of Alvarez Security, looking on in curiosity as he pulled his truck in line with other large vehicles. “Maybe tonight, when all of this is over.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m ready when you are.”

She turned and peered at him, seeing the familiar face that had haunted her for so long.Whatever happened to you, I’ve gotta know. I’ve gotta know everything so that I can decide what the hell I’m going to do.

* * *

Mackenna sat in the large conference area of Alvarez Security, eyes wide as she peeked around in curiosity. The huge room held computers, partitioned off areas, white screens on the walls, as well as other equipment against the walls. Doors leading to offices and other rooms holding God knows what else were in sight as well.

“Mackenna?” Jobe prodded.

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